Dr. Christopher Rodriguez is the Assistant City Administrator for the District of Columbia. He is responsible for the cross-agency collaboration and results delivery for the Government Operations Cluster, which includes agencies like the DC Human Resources (DCHR), Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP), and Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO). He works with District Government leaders at multiple levels to drive decision-making and enhance operational impact.
Prior to his current role in the Office of the City Administrator, Dr. Rodriguez was the Director of the District’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) from 2017-2023. In that role, he served as the Homeland Security Advisor and State Coordinating Officer for the District of Columbia, and the State Administrative Agent for homeland security federal grants funding for the District and National Capital Region. During that time, Dr. Rodriguez led the COVID-19 incident response for the District, which was recognized as among the strongest in the nation. He oversaw supply procurement, hiring and training response teams, and identifying physical space needed to carry out necessary activities such as testing, vaccine disbursement, and other essential community and business-related tasks. He also led emergency response operations for the District during the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
Dr. Rodriguez’s career in public service began when he joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. As a senior analyst in the Counterterrorism Center, he monitored terrorist groups in the Middle East and South Asia to identify and counter threats to the US and its allies by closely collaborating across federal, state, and local levels. From 2009-2011, he was deployed to the U.S. Embassy in Brussels as a key U.S. interlocutor during the Euro crisis. He has also served as Director of New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.
Dr. Rodriguez received a BA from Williams College and an MA and PhD in political science from the University of Notre Dame.