Recorded and originally presented at Yale University, this video features Patrick Von Bargen delivering the inaugural speech of the university’s 2011-2012 Sabin Prize Environmental Adventures Speaker Series. The speech, entitled “Opening Solyndra’s Box — Entrepreneurship and Energy: Where Does Energy, Innovation and Deployment Policy Go from Here?” is presented in its entirety, offering an opportunity to go behind doors that until recently would have been closed to all but a tiny elite.
A graduating member of Yale’s School of Management’s first class, Von Bargen is no comedian. One after another, the jokes he attempts to employ as icebreakers drop like lead balloons into a room that is as silent as a tomb. As an entrepreneur as well as a lobbyist, however, he is uniquely suited to the task of explaining the current political climate regarding green energy and entrepreneurship.
Recent political scandals regarding allegations of impropriety and misappropriation of funds in the Department of Energy have given rise to fears and concerns about the future of green energy entrepreneurship in the United States. As a provider of strategic counsel to the movers and shakers of the energy industry, Von Bargen is one of the few individuals in the world who is in a position to make a prediction regarding the future of green energy and entrepreneurship.
Since 2008, Von Bargen has worked as an advisor for QGA, counseling its energy clients that are engaged in the areas of biomass technology, solar energy, wind energy and recycling. In his capacity as a lawyer, he has acted as a representative for startup firms who use venture capital in order to advance clean energy technology. As a self-proclaimed political lobbyist, he is fully versed in the many aspects of public policy that affect the energy future of America.
Before joining QGA, Von Bargen had already assembled an impressive resume, including the position of Chief of Staff to Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) during the period from 1987-1999 and of Managing Executive for Policy & Staff for then-Chairman William H. Donaldson (R-NY) from 2003-2005 at the Securities & Exchange Commission. He has served as head of the National Commission on Entrepreneurship and as Vice President of the Council on Competitiveness. Additionally, he acted as CEO of the Center for Venture Education’s Kauffman Fellows Program in Silicon Valley for three years.
