Matt Lee-Ashley

Matt Lee-Ashley served as chief of staff and head of policy for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in the Biden-Harris Administration. During his four-year tenure, Matt rebuilt CEQ into a fast-moving, 120-person environmental policy office that drove landmark progress for the United States on nature conservation, environmental justice, permitting, climate resilience, federal sustainability, and toxic pollution reduction. Matt designed and guided President Biden’s “30x30” nature conservation campaign, stood up the first environmental justice policy office in the White House, and played a central role in the success of the Administration’s Justice40 Initiative.

Prior to joining CEQ, Matt was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he led the organization's natural resources policy team. He has also served in the Department of the Interior as deputy chief of staff and communications director, and in Congress as a policy advisor and communications director for U.S. Senator Ken Salazar.

Matt currently runs Foreground Strategy, a consulting firm he founded to help organizations, brands, and leaders develop and drive big ideas that make our world more livable and sustainable. A native of Colorado, he now lives in Washington, D.C.