In sixth grade, he led his fellow Safety Patrol workers on a strike over an unnecessary twenty minutes they were forced to stay in their posts long after the last student departing school had crossed the street.
When he was sixteen, he helped manage the successful campaign of his social studies teacher, Peter Lalich, for a seat on Athens City Council.
During his time at the Kennedy School, he served as a teaching fellow for classes taught in public management by Professors Steven Kelman and Jonathan Brock.
Before moving to the private sector, Wilhelm ran political campaigns for candidates such as Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and several Illinois-based Democrats, including Richard M. Daley and Paul Simon.
He oversaw the day-to-day operations of the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign, directed its Electoral College and political strategy, and planned the post-convention bus tour of the American heartland.
Under Wilhelm's leadership, the DNC played a meaningful role in support of President Clinton's first budget proposal, which passed a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives by a single vote.
But these organizational efforts were overshadowed by Clinton era controversies related to NAFTA, health care, and Congressional nervousness about the 1994 midterm elections.
This furthered Wilhelm's many efforts to promote entrepreneurship within the region and focuses on Appalachia's "Emerging Opportunities" for business growth and capital investment in energy, food, and health care as a pathway to a more diversified economy.
Hecate Energy is actively pursuing large scale solar and wind projects internationally, including countries such as Jordan, Tanzania, Kenya, and Pakistan.