Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF)
Executive Director
Bethesda, Maryland, United States
U.S.
Bob has been the executive director of the Solar Electric Light Fund since 1997. Under his leadership, SELF has installed over 550 solar energy systems in 25 countries, making it one of the world’s leading nongovernmental organizations that designs and implements solar energy-based solutions for those living without access to electricity.
An early advocate of access to energy as being essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, he is widely considered an authority on the subject of energy poverty. During his tenure he has broadened SELF’s mission and vision to address the broader implications of energy poverty. In 2000, he developed the Whole Village Development Model, an innovative approach for using solar energy to help communities improve their health, education, food and water security, and economic development programs. Bob received a Bachelor of Arts in Russian Studies from Yale University and a Masters degree from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California. In 2008, Bob received the King Hussein Leadership Award from Her Majesty Queen Noor.
Offer
I offer 30 years of experience in delivering solar solutions to impoverished communities around the world, and demonstrating the numerous ways in which energy access to help advance all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
NEED
Lack of sufficient funding to achieve impact on a global scale. Also, it is critical that SELF form more strategic partnerships with other organizations.
Call-to-Action
My hope is to establish a working group of like-minded individuals and organizations with whom I can partner to design and prototype a sustainable model for the "Village of the Future".
