Mr. Weirich is Vice President of Membership & Corporate Relations at ACORE and has been with the organization for over 7 years. He manages and oversees ACORE’s Membership Programs, Corporate Relations and Media Outreach, Public Affairs, and Corporate Fundraising. In 2010, he was appointed by Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, to be Vice Chair of the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee, geared at assisting the Secretary and Administration achieve its goal of doubling renewable energy exports by 2015, targeting $10 billion or more in annual export benefits. In 2011, he was appointed North American Chairperson for the World Council on Renewable Energy (WCRE).
He has established a leadership role within the U.S. renewable energy industry focusing specifically on the development of programs to expand the competitiveness of the U.S. renewable energy industry including programs and policies to expand exports of goods and services of hundreds of U.S. companies. He has also established effective relationships with international trade commissions, speaking on, and promoting, international import and export of U.S. renewable energy products to Europe, Asia and the Pacific Region. Mr. Weirich has spoken as an expert at over 14 national events on renewable energy and has led discussions at international events in Antarctica, Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In addition, he has led trade missions to Austria and China to foster greater supplier relationships between key U.S. manufacturers and their counterparts abroad.
Mr. Weirich has also been a key facilitator in building collaboration and connecting key players in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart grid and green building industries in the U.S. and helping to create a more unified and effective approach to how the U.S. strategically presents exports of “green” products. He has been integrally involved in, and managed aspects of U.S regional roundtables and national policy, technology and finance events; working with individual corporate committees; and organizing thought leadership gatherings of CEOs on how to scale up the renewable energy market both here in the U.S. and abroad.
In addition, Mr. Weirich has worked with ACORE’s 650 + corporate members — ranging from financiers to manufacturers to power producers — to bolster corporate relations, marketing, corporate visibility, and international trade and supplier partnerships. Through ACORE, he maintains international relationships with the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), Renewable Energy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), World Council on Renewable Energy (WCRE) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In addition, he actively works with over 85 renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart grid and green building associations, non-profits and think tanks nationally.
Before joining ACORE in 2004, Mr. Weirich worked with Edelman Public Relations Worldwide on corporate relations within the Consumer Technology & Digital Lifestyle Group in Silicon Valley. He also worked with the International Trade & Arbitration Groups at White & Case, LLP in Washington, D.C. and interned on Capitol Hill. Mr. Weirich received his M.A. in International Development from the Committee on International Relations at the University of Chicago, and his B.S. in Foreign Service with Honors in International Politics & International Law from Georgetown University.
He is fluent in Czech and speaks German and Spanish on an intermediate level. He is also currently learning Chinese and Danish, and is studying to become a LEED© accredited professional in new building construction. Mr. Weirich was a George C. Marshall Fellow to Austria (2007), Krogh Scholar (2002), Prince of Liechtenstein Fellow (2000), Senior Fellow with New York based Humanity in Action (HIA), and is on the Host Committees for local Washington, DC events, including the Green Cup of Polo, the Washington Humane Society’s “Fashion 4 Paws”, and the Cherry Blossom Festival’s “Pink Tie Party”. Mr. Weirich also serves on the Advisory Board for SmartPower’s EnergySmart Campaign, is Co-Chairman of REgroup.dc, and is an Advisory Council member of the District of Columbia Republican Committee. He is an ASAE member, a U.S. Green Building Council member, and remains active in the Georgetown Chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon, Foreign Service Fraternity.
