Jared Blumenfeld was appointed California Secretary for Environmental Protection by Governor Gavin Newsom in January 2019. As Secretary, Jared oversees the state’s efforts to fight climate change, protect air and water quality, regulate pesticides and toxic substances, achieve the state’s recycling and waste reduction goals, and advance environmental justice. As a member of the Governor’s cabinet, he advises the Governor on environmental policy.

Jared brings to CalEPA more than 25 years of environmental policy and management experience at the local, national and international levels. From 2009 to 2016, he served under former President Barack Obama as Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the Pacific Southwest, a region that includes California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, the Pacific Islands and 148 tribal nations. Previously, Jared was Director of San Francisco’s Department of Environment from 2001 to 2009, first under former Mayor Willie Brown and then under Gavin Newsom. He and Mayor Newsom worked effectively to make San Francisco “the most sustainable city in the nation” by developing a municipal Environment Code that includes mandatory recycling and composting, bans on Styrofoam and plastic bags, and a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Jared graduated from Cambridge College of Arts and Technology, and earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of London and a Master of Laws from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). Prior to joining CalEPA, Jared founded a private consulting firm to advise clean-tech companies on strategic planning and market development. He also hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,650-mile route that stretches from the U.S.-Mexico border to the U.S.-Canada border. He continues to host an award-winning podcast on environmental topics, called Podship Earth.