Michael Vandenbergh, Vanderbilt University
“Beyond Gridlock: Private Governance Response to Climate Change”

Professor Vandenbergh is the David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair of Law, Co-Director of the Energy, Environment and Land Use Program, and Director of the Climate Change Research Network at Vanderbilt University Law School. An award-winning teacher, Professor Vandenbergh has published numerous articles and book chapters on private environmental governance and household energy use. His recent work focuses on the development of interdisciplinary teams to examine the role that private governance can play in bypassing climate policy gridlock. His work with Vanderbilt’s Climate Change Research Network focuses on household sector energy use and carbon emissions, and his corporate work explores the wide range of legal, social and economic influences on firm environmental and energy behavior. Prior to joining the Vanderbilt faculty he was a partner at Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C., and he served as Chief of Staff of the Environmental Protection Agency from 1993-95. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard and the University of Chicago, and his research has been discussed in major media outlets such as National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, National Geographic, USA Today, and the Washington Post.