Appointed Cal/EPA secretary by Governor Jerry Brown in July 2011, Matthew Rodriguez graduated from University of California Berkeley with a degree in history and received his JD from Hasting College of the Law in 1980.

The longtime Bay Area resident began work at the California Coastal Commission in 1979 as a graduate student assistant. He became an associate program analyst for the Governor's Office of Planning and Research in 1981 after graduating from law school. Rodriguez joined the City of Livermore as an assistant city attorney in 1983 before becoming a deputy city attorney for the City of Hayward in 1985.

Rodriguez spent the next 24 years working on environmental issues at the California Department of Justice, beginning in 1987 as deputy attorney general. In that capacity,   his clients included the California Coastal Commission, the State Lands Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. He was appointed senior assistant attorney general for the Land Law Section in 1999.

Rodriguez was tapped to be chief assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Public Rights Division in 2008 shortly after Jerry Brown won election as attorney general. His responsibilities included supervision of the Land Law, Environment Law, Natural Resources Law, Consumer Law, Civil Rights Enforcement, Antitrust and Corporate Fraud sections of the office. And he supervised efforts to enforce hazardous waste disposal laws and regulations protecting groundwater from leaking underground storage tanks. Rodriguez also had responsibility for the legal team that defended the state's greenhouse gas rules against challenges by the auto industry.

He served briefly as acting chief deputy attorney general under Attorney General Kamala D. Harris before being appointed Cal/EPA secretary. Rodriguez is a Democrat and his appointment requires Senate confirmation. He joined a half-dozen top administration officials already promoted by Brown from the attorney general’s office, including Executive Secretary James Humes and Legal Affairs Secretary Jonathan Renner.

Matt Rodriquez , Secretary for Environmental Protection (Cal/EPA website)

Brown Names New CalEPA Chief from Castro Valley (by Josh Richman, Contra Costa Times)

Governor Taps AG's Matthew Rodriguez to Head CalEPA (by Cheryl Miller, Legal Pad)