From 2001 to 2008, Rodriguez worked as a program director at the Cesar Chavez Foundation. She worked as a full-time volunteer for the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama in Colorado. In 2009, Rodriguez was hired by the Obama administration, initially working as Director of Youth Employment and later as Deputy Press Secretary to former United States Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar. From 2011 to 2017, Rodriguez served at the White House Office of Public Engagement as deputy director of public engagement and later served as Special Assistant to President Obama. Her work as deputy director initially involved immigration and Latino outreach, and evolved over time into the management of the White House's outreach program to Latino, LGBT, veteran, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Muslim, youth, education and progressive communities.