Bonnie Reiss, at age 62, Schwarzenegger adviser

LOS ANGELES—Bonnie Reiss, who played a key role in crafting education and environmental policy for then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, died Monday at her home in Malibu.

Ms. Reiss made her way from national politics to entertainment law to government service, serving as a senior adviser to Schwarzenegger and later as the California’s Education secretary.

A family spokesman said she was diagnosed with lung cancer last year. Ms. Reiss was 62.

“Bonnie never accepted things as they are,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement in response to her death. “She was born to shake the status quo to its core and shape the world.”

“I have never met anyone with more energy for helping others and improving the world around her,” he said.

Ms. Reiss’ devotion to Schwarzenegger’s agenda was a testament to their close personal connection. The partnership between the Republican governor and his liberal Democratic adviser was rooted in a friendship that began four decades ago with Maria Shriver, California’s former first lady who married Schwarzenegger in 1986. “She was where the action was,” Shriver said.

Ms. Reiss had a leadership role in Schwarzenegger’s efforts to boost after-school programs for children and was an advocate for environmental protection while serving in his administration. She most recently was a regent for the University of California and served as director of the University of Southern California Schwarzenegger Institute.

As a regent, she was praised by colleagues for her focus on the needs of students from underserved and low-income communities.

“She was the conscience of the regents,” said Sherry Lansing, a former studio executive and fellow University of California regent who later became a close friend. “She always heard the other side in a debate. And when Bonnie spoke, she could sway the room.”

UC President Janet Napolitano praised Ms. Reiss’ work on policy regarding sexual harassment investigations on its campuses.