Commissioners:
Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor, Chair
Malia M. Cohen, California State Controller, Member
Joe Stephenshaw, Director of the Department of Finance, Member
Media Contacts:
Sheri Pemberton, Chief of External Affairs
916.477.0691 | Sheri.Pemberton@slc.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO – The State Lands Commission is thrilled to announce that it has appointed Dr. Matthew Dumlao as its Executive Officer.
Matthew has served as the Chief of Staff and Environmental Policy Advisor to Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis since 2021 and previously as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Policy Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor. In this capacity, Matthew served as the Lieutenant Governor’s chief advisor and alternate on the California State Lands Commission, Ocean Protection Council, and California Coastal Commission.
Prior to joining the Lieutenant Governor’s office, Matthew served as legislative aide and committee consultant to State Senator Henry Stern. Before that, he was a Science Fellow with the California Council on Science and Technology, serving as a policy consultant in the Office of State Senator Fran Pavley and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water. While in the Legislature, Matthew helped pass the landmark bill SB 32, which set a goal of reducing California’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. Matthew also worked on legislation that the governor signed related to clean energy, natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable water policy.
Matthew earned a Ph.D. in Soil Science and Biogeochemistry from the University of California, Davis, and served as a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Plant Biology from UC Davis and a Master of Arts in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
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