Dr. Joseph K. Lyou
PRESIDENT & CEO
HE/HIM
Dr. Joseph K. Lyou serves as President & CEO of the Coalition for Clean Air. Dr. Lyou served as the appointee of the Speaker of the Assembly to California Transportation Commission from January 2020 to January 2024. Dr. Lyou also served as the governor’s appointee to the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board from June 2007 to March 2019.
Prior to his work at CCA, he founded the California Environmental Rights Alliance, a public interest group dedicated to working on environmental justice issues. Dr. Lyou has spent more than 30 years helping community groups and concerned individuals with environmental protection issues, including air and water pollution, the clean-up of contaminated sites, and environmental justice. He previously held management positions with the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and Committee to Bridge the Gap. Dr. Lyou received his Ph.D. from UC Santa Cruz in 1990.
BILL MAGAVERN
policy director
he/him
Bill Magavern joined CCA in 2012 and serves as Policy Director, based in Sacramento. He has authored numerous reports and articles on energy and environmental issues, and testifies frequently before the State Legislature, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and other agencies. An environmental advocate since 1988, Magavern worked as Staff Attorney for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Director of Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy Project, Sacramento Director of the Committee to Bridge the Gap, and Director of Sierra Club California.
Bill received his A.B in American Civilization, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Brown University and his J.D. magna cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School. CARB honored him with a 2022 Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award for outstanding contributions in policy.
nicole roberts
development director
she/her
With over two decades of dedicated service in the nonprofit sector, Nicole Roberts is a seasoned Development Director with a passion for effecting positive change. Her expertise spans strategic fundraising, stakeholder engagement, and organizational growth. She received her M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, and she has called California home since 2004. Nicole is an experienced team leader, and has worked passionately for social justice and other causes including food insecurity, family violence, mental health services, and environmental advocacy.
Chris chavez
Deputy Policy Director
Chris joined CCA in 2017, and works on the State Budget, local advocacy and issues involving low-income and disadvantaged communities. Previously, Chris served as a Legislative Aide for State Senator Fran Pavley (ret.), staffing her on transportation, local government and the Senate floor. Additionally, Chris served as a Senate Fellow for then-State Senator Alex Padilla and staffed legislation that improved rail service in Southern California. Prior to his time at the Capitol, Chris was a student advocate for California’s public higher education system. Chris has a BA in Political Science from California State University, Long Beach, and is a member of the City of Long Beach’s Parks, Recreation and Marine Commission.
Dr. Jennifer Lentz
Deputy Director of Programs
she/her
Dr. Jennifer Lentz joined CCA in 2020. Prior to coming to CCA, she worked at the Aquarium of the Pacific using GIS and community science to develop interactive ways to connect people of all ages to the ecology of the surrounding world, to create environmentally aware and engaged communities. She was also one of the lead authors of the 2015 report commissioned by Mayor Garcia advising him on how to make Long Beach the model of a climate resilient city.
Dr. Lentz is currently serves on LA County’s Sensitive Ecological Areas Technical Advisory Committee (SEATAC).
Dr. Lentz received her Ph.D. in 2012 from Louisiana State University.
Diana Alvarado
Communications and education manager
she/her/hers
AKA Dipa, joined CCA in 2022 and has been working on social media and grant management in our downtown Los Angeles office. Prior to CCA, she worked as a pro bono assistant for UC Berkeley School of Law and managed a CALFIRE funded tree planting project for a non-profit organization in the Imperial Valley. Diana has a B.A. in Political Science & Theater from UC Berkeley.
john shim
office manager
he/him
John joined the CCA team in the summer of 2022 and has been working in our downtown Los Angeles office. Before working for the CCA, he spent the last decade working with start-ups and small business owners, focusing on improving operational and administrative efficiency. John left consulting to focus his efforts on helping individuals rather than boosting company profits.
jordan brazil
development manager
she/her
Jordan joined CCA in 2022 and has been working in our downtown Los Angeles office. Prior to CCA, she worked in the Life Sciences industry for a Danaher company. During her time there she specialized in B2B and experience marketing. After several years developing these skills, she decided she wanted to use those skills to join the good fight against climate change. Jordan has a B.S. in Business Administration, with a concentration in International Business.
kareem gongora
outreach manager
he/him/his
Kareem Gongora joined the CCA team in 2022 and will be assisting with outreach in the Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley. Kareem is a communications professional, passionate about environmental justice and empowering the community to fight for clean air. He earned his BA English at UC Riverside, MA Management from the University of Redlands, and is currently pursuing his doctorate in Public Administration from Cal Baptist University.
sofia rafikova
policy advocate
she/her
Sofia joined CCA in 2022 and is working on protecting air quality, promoting a sustainable and equitable transportation system, and stopping the climate change crisis. Her work mainly revolves around working with transportation agencies to ensure California is funding projects that reduce vehicle miles traveled, reduce GHG and air pollutant emissions, and promote equity. She has also been active at the legislative level, calling for more funding to be awarded to active transportation and transit programs, and promoting bills that would reduce emissions in disadvantaged communities, improve agency accountability, and incentivize the switch to zero-emission vehicles. Recently, she has been engaged in calling for agencies to stop funding highway expansion projects which will only increase air pollution and contribute to climate change while worsening traffic. Sofia holds a Masters in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School and a BA in Environmental and Sustainability Studies from Bard College at Simon’s Rock.
dori chandler
policy advocate
she/they
Dori Chandler has been advocating for policy solutions to climate change for two decades. Most recently she was the Interim Executive Director and Public Policy Director for Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light–the Indiana affiliate of Interfaith Power & Light, a national faith-based environmental organization. There she helped push the state towards renewable energy expansion and a transition away from coal. She has also worked as an organizer with the Union of Concerned Scientists, advocating for national policies to support sound science and as an environmental planner & consultant for county governments, non-profits, and trade organizations in resource recovery and reuse. She joins CCA as the Policy Advocate working to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions from heavy-duty freight and shipping.
jordan reynolds
web developer
he/him/his
Jordan Reynolds joined the CCA team in 2024 as a Web Developer. Jordan received his Master’s degree in Vocal Pedagogy from New England Conservatory, and his Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Brigham Young University. Jordan has worked on full stack web applications focusing on music and education for organizations including CS Music (Classical Singer Magazine) and BYU’s Learning Suite. Jordan is passionate about work that makes a positive impact, and is thrilled to be professionally involved in environmental advocacy and music.
