After graduating from law school, Gonzales-Rogers was the Assistant General Counsel for the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee, chaired by the esteemed U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, from 1993 to 1995. Gonzales-Rogers’ work with the Senate Indian Affairs Committee was instrumental in shaping the pivotal 1994 Amendments to the Indian Self-Determination Act, which had far-reaching impacts on Native American communities.

In 1995, Gonzales-Rogers started working for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). His first position was as Executive Director of the Intra-Departmental Council on Native American Affairs. In 1997, he became Senior Policy Advisor for the Pacific. In 2004, Gonzales-Rogers was briefly the Director of Policy for the State of New Mexico’s Office of the Governor. There, he created policies to improve the lives of New Mexicans. He returned to D.C. in 2005 as a Special Policy Consultant for the Democratic Governors Association.

From 2007 to 2012, Gonzales-Rogers held the positions of Senior Advisor for Tribal Affairs and Chief of Congressional and Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), where he played a pivotal role in advancing conservation efforts. In 2011, he co-authored a groundbreaking guidebook for the USFWS, which outlined tribal consultation protocols and marked a significant step forward in promoting collaboration and communication between government agencies and tribal nations.

Gonzaelz-Rogers served as the Interim Director of the Executive Management Programs for Tribal Leaders at the Yale School of Management from 2012 to 2014. In this role, he furthered his commitment to education and leadership. In 2014, Gonzales-Rogers became Director of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Washington, DC Office, where he spearheaded OHA’s federal advocacy, legislative affairs, and congressional engagement efforts. From 2016 to 2017, Gonzales-Rogers was on the Jicarilla Apache Nation-Economic Development Holding Company’s board.

Gonzales-Roger was the Senior Tribal Policy Advisor at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2016 to 2018. At the EPA, he was crucial in developing policies and strategies addressing environmental issues within tribal communities.

Notably, Gonzales-Rogers oversaw tribal land management plans for the Bears Ears Monument as the inaugural Executive Director of the Bears Ears Intertribal Coalition, formed in 2015. From 2018 to 2022, Gonzales-Rogers was the coalition’s full-time Executive Director. Under his visionary leadership, the coalition achieved remarkable milestones. These accomplishments include fully restoring the Bears Ears region, developing comprehensive land management plans spanning two million acres, and establishing a formal co-management Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the federal government. Gonzales-Rogers is committed to safeguarding tribal heritage and preserving natural resources, an effort recognized by the Biden White House as one of its most significant conservation accomplishments.

In addition to his pivotal role in the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, Gonzales-Rogers contributes to several boards. Since 2021, he has been a member of the Windward Fund’s Board of Directors. In 2022,  Gonzales-Rogers was appointed to the steering committee of America the Beautiful, overseeing $91 million in grants dedicated to supporting large-scale conservation projects. These grants have benefited a minimum of 14 tribal nations to date. His insights and leadership shape critical conservation initiatives. His efforts were instrumental in recognizing and establishing the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a significant milestone in preserving and protecting the unique marine ecosystem of the region.

Gonzales-Roger’s advocacy also extended to Native Hawaiian interests in managing the Thirty-Meter Telescope on Hawai’i Island, where he worked tirelessly to ensure the project adhered to cultural sensitivity and environmental preservation principles.

In 2022, Gonzales-Rogers became a Visiting Resident Fellow and Distinguished Simpson-Hewett Lecturer at the Yale School of Divinity. The same year, he joined the Yale School of Environment as Lecturer and Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the Yale Center for Environmental Justice. He is also the Director of Indigenous Initiatives at the Yale Center for Environmental Justice. He is a recognized authority in the fields of environmental stewardship and education.

Gonzales-Rogers is frequently interviewed by news outlets and podcasts, where he shares the historic challenges faced by tribal nations in land management and shared strategies to overcome them, offering valuable insights and advice for students aspiring to pursue careers in conservation.