Chairman William H. Donaldson said, "Patrick has played a critical role as a trusted member of our senior management team and has helped to manage one of the most prolific rule-making and enforcement periods in the history of the Commission. His contribution to the SEC, and to my office, has been substantial and he will be missed."
Von Bargen, who joined the Commission staff in April of 2003, assists the Chairman in directing the Commission’s policy-making and enforcement activities.
In his new role as CEO of the Center for Venture Education, Von Bargen will help engineer a national and international expansion of a program that is designed to educate, develop and network emerging leaders in venture capital and high-growth start-ups. Founded in 1994, the Kauffman Fellows Program spun out from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and created the Center for Venture Education, a non-profit, post-graduate educational institute.
Prior to joining the SEC, Von Bargen served as Founder and Executive Director of the National Commission on Entrepreneurship in Washington, D.C., funded by the Kauffman Foundation. He also served for many years as chief-of-staff for U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico. Early in his career he worked in venture capital with Sequoia Capital and spent five years providing legal advice to VC firms and CEOs of startup companies. Von Bargen holds a master’s degree in public and private management from Yale School of Management. He received both JD and bachelor’s degrees from Stanford University.
