State and national energy policy leaders to speak at Virginia Tech

Stephen A. Walz, Virginia's senior advisor for energy policy and chair of Gov. Tim Kaine's Energy Policy Advisory Council, will speak at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 13, Virginia Tech's Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown.

Walz will focus his discussion on the Virginia Energy Plan and future directions for energy research.

R. James Woolsey, vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton and commissioner of the National Commission on Energy Policy, will speak at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at the Lyric Theater. Woolsey will speak on "Energy, Security and the Long War of the 21st Century."

Gov. Kaine appointed Walz senior advisor for energy policy in April 2007. Walz, most recently the director of administration for the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME), has worked on energy issues in Virginia government since 1980, managing the DMME energy conservation and efficiency programs and directing Virginia’s Energy Office. He has 30 years of experience with energy efficiency, renewable energy development, coal and mineral mining, gas and oil development, and low-income weatherization and fuel assistance services.

Walz lead the development of the Virginia Energy Plan, a proposal to promote the commonwealth’s energy independence and to educate consumers on energy conservation and efficiency. The plan was required by the 2006 General Assembly, and was prepared by a broad-based advisory group representing citizens, consumers, the environmental community, and Virginia energy producers.

Woolsey, an outspoken advocate of energy independence and champion the environmental benefits of shifting away from fossil fuels, has held U.S. Presidential appointments in two Democratic and two Republican administrations. During his 12 years of government service, he was most recently director of Central Intelligence in 1993-95. He also served as Ambassador to the Negotiation on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.

Woolsey joined Booz Allen Hamilton in July 2002, as a vice president and officer. He is with the firm’s energy practice, located in McLean, Va. He is currently co-chair (with former Secretary of State George Shultz) of the Committee on the Present Danger. He chairs the advisory boards of the Clean Fuels Foundation and the New Uses Council. Woolsey serves on the National Commission on Energy Policy.

Woolsey has served in the past as a member of boards of directors of a number of publicly and privately held companies, generally in fields related to technology and security. He was a partner at the law firm of Shea & Gardner in Washington, D.C., where he practiced for 22 years, on four occasions, beginning in 1973.

The Energy and Environment Speaker Series is a continued effort of the Deans’ Forums, sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research. For more information, contact Jack Lesko, Special Assistant for Energy Initiatives, at jlesko@vt.edu or (540) 231-5196. Learn more about energy research at Virginia Tech.