Healey and Driscoll Names Massachusetts' First Climate Chief
BOSTON — Governor-elect Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor-elect Driscoll today announced that they will appoint Melissa Hoffer as Climate Chief.
Hoffer is currently the Principal Deputy General Counsel at the Environmental Protection Agency and was previously the Chief of the Energy and Environment Bureau at the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office.
"Melissa Hoffer is unstoppable. I'm thrilled to welcome her back to Massachusetts as our first ever Climate Chief," said Healey. "The creation of this position sends a clear message that Massachusetts is a global leader in the fight against climate change and that it will be central to all of the work we do across the administration. We're going to partner with our workforce each step of the way to deliver critical investments in cleaner energy, transportation, infrastructure and housing."
This is a new cabinet-level position created by Healey that will be responsible for driving climate policy across every agency and ensuring that climate change is considered in all relevant decision-making. Massachusetts is the first state in the nation to establish such a position at the cabinet level.
"I'm honored and thrilled to be asked by Governor-elect Healey and Lieutenant Governor-elect Driscoll to serve as Massachusetts' first Climate Chief," said Hoffer. "The climate crisis is one of the biggest challenges we face, but it also presents an unprecedented opportunity for us to build a better, healthier, more equitable future. Climate change is not just an environmental issue – it's a public health issue, an energy security issue, an issue inextricably linked with emergency preparedness, land use, agriculture, workforce development, clean tech innovation, transportation, housing, education and more. With this new office, we're establishing a governance structure that reflects that reality and ensures our actions are aligned with the science."
Healey created the Climate Chief position to ensure that addressing the climate crisis is front and center in all of the administration's work. Reporting directly to the Governor as a cabinet member, Hoffer will monitor the progress of the administration's cross-agency climate work and make sure that municipal leaders, labor and those disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis have a seat at the table. She will play an integral role in putting Massachusetts on track to meet Healey's ambitious climate goals, including achieving 100 percent clean electricity supply by 2030 and electrifying public transportation with clean power by 2040. This work will also intersect with the administration's critical efforts to invest in transportation, infrastructure, housing and workforce development.
Hoffer joined the Biden Administration as a Day 1 political appointee, serving as the Acting General Counsel and Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency. She led the EPA's Office of General Counsel through the transition until November 2021, and continued to serve as Principal Deputy General Counsel.
She joined the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office as Chief of the Environmental Protection Division in 2012 and was named Chief of AG Healey's newly formed Energy and Environment Bureau in February 2015. Hoffer oversaw the work of the Bureau's attorneys on matters including prosecuting civil and criminal enforcement of environmental laws, proceedings before the DPU, energy policy, and defensive cases. She led the Office's litigation against ExxonMobil for deceiving Massachusetts investors and consumers about the risk climate change poses to Exxon's business and global financial markets, and the impacts of its fossil fuel products on climate change.
Prior to joining the Attorney General's Office, Hoffer held senior roles at the Conservation Law Foundation and practiced for many years as a litigator and environmental lawyer at WilmerHale. She also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Magistrate Judge Joyce London Alexander, Boston Federal District Court. She received a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, Certificate in Environmental Management from Tufts University, M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts, and B.A. from Hampshire College. In her spare time, she raises a small herd of Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats at her farm in Barre, Massachusetts.
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