Gov. Maura Healey on Nov. 10 appointed Aladdine Joroff as Massachusetts Climate Chief, promoting the deputy to lead the Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience, according to a release from the governor's office. The appointment took effect that day.
Joroff succeeds Melissa Hoffer, the state's first Climate Chief, who held the post from January 2023 until Nov. 9. Hoffer is leaving to become president of Vermont Law and Graduate School, a role she starts Dec. 1, 2026, the release said. The school announced her hiring Aug. 27.
Joroff had been Deputy Climate Chief and Director of Mitigation and Community Resilience in the office. As chief, the release said, she will continue to lead the administration's efforts to coordinate climate policy across state government, strengthen community resilience, advance clean energy and support the state's climate goals. It does not say whether a new deputy will be named or whether any priorities will change.
"I'm excited to continue the transformative work Chief Hoffer has led to implement the Healey-Driscoll administration's vision of a government wide approach to climate change," Joroff said.
Healey signed an executive order on her first full day in office in January 2023 that created the office and what the release called the nation's first cabinet-level Climate Chief position. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said Joroff "has spent her career working with local leaders to develop practical solutions."
Joroff joined the administration in August 2024 after serving as Director of Climate Policy for the City of Boston. Before that she spent a decade teaching and practicing at Harvard Law School's Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, working with Massachusetts municipalities, nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups. She also taught the Climate Solutions Living Lab and is a Visiting Lecturer on Environmental Science and Public Policy at Harvard University.
Earlier, she practiced environmental, energy and land use law at Goodwin and Beveridge & Diamond. She holds a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and bachelor's and master's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.