Patrick Heller

Patrick Heller serves as Chief Program Officer at the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) while holding a position as Senior Visiting Fellow at UC Berkeley's Center on Law, Energy and Environment. After earning his JD from Stanford Law School and MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins SAIS, he has dedicated over 15 years to advancing legal reform and governance initiatives in developing nations. His expertise spans the governance of state-owned oil and mining companies, extractive industry contracts analysis, and sustainable pathways for fossil fuel-producing countries. At NRGI, he oversees the global program portfolio while providing technical assistance to governments and civil society organizations worldwide. His impact extends through capacity development programs, including facilitating courses on extractive industry legal frameworks at prestigious institutions like Oxford, Columbia, and Gadjah Mada University. His recent work focuses particularly on helping state-owned enterprises and oil-dependent nations navigate the challenges of climate change and energy transition. Through collaborations with organizations including USAID, the U.S. State Department, and the Asian Development Bank, he continues to shape global understanding of natural resource governance while advancing sustainable development goals in the extractive sector.