Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer will be leaving the Healey administration later this year to become president of Vermont Law and Graduate School.
Hoffer’s presidency in South Royalton, Vermont, will begin Dec. 1, and Gov. Maura Healey will be naming a successor before Hoffer departs, the administration said.
“I am honored and thrilled to join Vermont Law and Graduate School as its next president,” Hoffer said in a statement. “VLGS has long been a national leader in environmental and public interest law, and the institution is uniquely positioned to lead in this time of momentous and intersecting challenges.”
Healey called Hoffer “an extraordinary partner and climate leader,” and expressed gratitude for her work; Energy and Environment Secretary Rebecca Tepper called Hoffer “a true climate champion whose leadership has helped move Massachusetts toward a more climate-ready future.”
Before she joined the Healey administration in 2023, Hoffer was principal deputy general counsel and acting general counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She also had previously led the Energy and Environment Bureau in the attorney general’s office under Healey.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as Massachusetts’—and the nation’s—first cabinet level Climate Chief, and to make our whole-of-government approach a successful model for other states and local governments,” Hoffer added.
CLF Vice President for Massachusetts Rishi Reddi said in a statement that Hoffer “did an extraordinary job in a new Massachusetts’ cabinet position dedicated to holistically aligning all of state government against the escalating damage of climate change at a time when that work was never more important – and never more under attack.”
VLGS Board Chair Glenn Berger said in a press release sent out Thursday afternoon that Hoffer’s “vision and expertise complement the goals and mission of VLGS,” and that “together, we will support up-and-coming law and policy leaders, build broad support for the school’s efforts and ensure its continued success.”
Hoffer’s departure is the latest from Healey’s leadership team, and the news comes on the heels of the announced departure of the Department of Higher Education’s commissioner, Noe Ortega.
A handful of Healey’s original Cabinet secretaries have also stepped down over the last four years, including former Housing Secretary Ed Augustus, former Public Safety Secretary Terrence Reidy, former Transportation Secretaries Monica Tibbits-Nutt and Gina Fiandaca, Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh, Veterans Services Secretary Jon Santiago, and Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler.
Ella Adams is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts. Reach her at ella.adams@statehousenews.com.
