Meet some key Corbett cabinet picks: Patrick Henderson, Energy executive
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Patrick Henderson
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When Patrick Henderson started his college education at Bloomsburg University in 1992, he thought he wanted to be a sociologist.
"But I hated the classes, and the professors were never accessible," he recalls. "So I switched to political science and I loved it right away."
Now, after 14 years as an aide to state Sen. Mary Jo White, R-Venango, holding the influential position of director of the environmental resources and energy committee she has chaired for 11 years, Mr. Henderson, still only 36, gets to work on his passion at an even higher level. Two weeks ago, Gov. Tom Corbett tapped him to become the first person to hold the new post of energy executive.
The energy executive will be "the person who has the ear of the governor on energy policy," said Mr. Corbett's spokesman, Kevin Harley, "so that there's one voice on energy issues."
Creating the senior adviser position was part of Mr. Corbett's energy policy outlined during his campaign. Some speculated it might be a move to re-create the old energy office that former Gov. Tom Ridge disbanded in 1995.
But Mr. Henderson said directly: "It's not going to be the energy office."
On the other hand, he noted, "This is not going to be a job where I sit here and one person makes energy policy."
He will work with the various state agencies that deal with different aspects of energy issues, primarily the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
With his office on the same floor as the governor's, he will frequently advise Mr. Corbett directly, but his day-to-day work goes through the governor's director of policy and planning, Jennifer Branstetter.
Mr. Henderson is charged with handling issues involving all types of energy, but he acknowledges that issues surrounding Marcellus Shale natural gas "will dominate the conversation. There's no way around that."
First Published January 30, 2011 12:00 am
