Sam Weaver is the CEO and co-founder of Cool Energy as well as the former Mayor of Boulder, CO. Cool Energy’s products are designed for producing electricity from wasted industrial heat and renewable sources, and the scale of the equipment is suited for on-site power generation. Sam also served on the Boulder City Council for 8 years, with 2 years as Mayor. In his time on Council, Sam championed high-efficiency building codes, climate resilience actions, and cleaner power from Xcel Energy. Sam serves on the board of Proton Power, a biomass-to-fuels systems company whose core technology extends to advanced materials and electric power production. Sam holds a B.S. in engineering from Caltech and is an inventor named on thirty-three issued U.S. patents. Sam is a former Chief of the Sugarloaf Fire Department, a former member of the City of Boulder Planning Board, and loves biking, the outdoors, and good conversations.
My advice to students is...
Follow your passions first and try to increase human knowledge and thriving. Leadership begins with doing, and when you are pursuing things you care deeply about, the work is fulfilling and pace is easier to maintain. When you speak your truth involving passion projects, others who care about the same things will take notice. That leads to directed conversations, coordinated actions, and leadership whether titled as such or not. Leadership that includes making final decisions for larger groups can be very difficult in preparation, execution, and follow-through. When making such decisions, over-communicate in all phases. When receiving such decisions, try and envision how to make them work the best while giving honest feedback. Be quick to acknowledge your mistakes and gentle when pointing out others'. In all things be kind and firm - you will never regret the kindness and others will remember both the graciousness and the decisiveness.