One—a part-time position as director of the Public Health Trust, an Oakland-based group that manages money from healthcare lawsuits—is an extension of her career as a corporate and public interest lawyer.

Her other job: first lady of the University of California, Irvine.

At UC Irvine, Brenda said her job is to support husband and Chancellor Michael Drake, “because his job is really a non-stop job.”

The Drakes have been UCI’s first family since 2005, when Michael, 58, became the fifth chancellor in the university’s 45-year history.

Before taking the UCI job, Michael served as vice president of health affairs for the University of California system.

The Drakes are one of the most accomplished couples in the county, with both having long careers before coming to UCI.

Michael is an ophthalmologist by training and a former professor. Brenda practiced corporate law as in-house counsel for Bank of America Corp. in San Francisco and ran the philanthropic Richard and Rhoda Goldman fund earlier in her career.

The Drakes, who have easy laughs and play well off each other, chuckled at a suggestion that their dynamic is similar to that of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

“They’re younger than we are,” Michael joked, downplaying the comparison.

President Obama is 47, about a decade younger than Michael. Michelle Obama is 45.

Still, there are things the president is worried about “that I can relate to viscerally,” Michael said.

“It’s not just Obama, it’s anyone who leads an organization like that,” he said.