Rohan Patel visits UNF to share journey from music major to clean energy advisor

The University of North Florida welcomed Rohan Patel, former Tesla executive and Obama administration senior advisor for climate and energy policy, to campus yesterday.

In the afternoon, Patel participated in a Q&A session with students from various majors in the Fine Arts Center, discussing his experiences as a music major at Northwestern University, playing the violin, joining the Obama administration and his time as Tesla's vice president for global public policy and business development.

During the session, Patel fielded questions about topics ranging from sustaining performing arts in education to voting rights to maintaining a healthy work life balance.

He also encouraged students to be as versatile as possible by taking advantage of available opportunities, and to be courageous enough to ask others for help for the benefit of their social and professional development.

Students who attended the session were appreciative of Patel's encouraging words and candidness about his varied experiences.

"It was powerful to have a former musician in politics speak to students about the importance of hard work, voting and community engagement," said Benjamin Butenschoen, a senior voice performance major in the School of Music.

The session was also attended by UNF School of Music faculty members Dr. Clarence Hines, Dr. Nick Curry and Dr. Cara Tasher.

In the evening, Patel participated in "Powering the Future: The Geopolitics of Clean Energy," a discussion co-sponsored by the UNF Office of Public Policy Events and the College of Arts and Sciences in the John A. Delaney Student Union. Joining him in the discussion was Dr. Nicholas Seabrook, chair and professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and director of the Office of Public Policy Events.

The event, which was free and open to the public, attracted an audience of 90+ attendees from the local and UNF communities. Among those in attendance were UNF President Dr. Moez Limayem and Dr. Kaveri Subrahmanyam, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

During the discussion, Patel spoke about advocating for energy independence, the benefits of solar and wind power, the prospects of virtual power plants and other geopolitical topics. Following the discussion, he answered questions from the audience.

Visit the Office of Public Policy Events websiteto learn about upcoming events and view recordings of past events.

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