Summer 2014

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Northwestern is the quarterly alumni magazine for Northwestern University.
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Features
Mark Silberg. Photo by Mary Henebry.

The Philosophy of Green: Mark Silberg

“We believe that solutions to global energy challenges require interdisciplinary leadership and problem solving from a diverse set of students. Spark Clean Energy [a nonprofit organization] acts as a gateway to engage young Americans in energy innovation. And we provide that community with different resources to help them accelerate their impact.”
“By providing funding and resources, we hope to bring new perspectives and talent to the energy community. In particular, Spark is hosting events and innovation competitions, raising money to fund startups and entrepreneurs and connecting them with university lab space and incubation services — all to build a cohesive and cooperative energy ecosystem.”

After philosophy major Mark Silberg, the first Associated Student Government vice president for sustainability, launched Spark Clean Energy in 2013, the initiative merged with the nonprofit group Energyfolks. Silberg has been working full time as Spark’s executive director since the spring.