Tania Pacheco-Werner, Ph.D.
Appointed December 2020 by Governor Gavin Newsom
Term ends December 31, 2026
Dr. Tania Pacheco-Werner is the Executive Director at the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State. Dr. Pacheco-Werner is also a member of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. She is a medical sociologist by training and received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, San Francisco. She was appointed to the California Air Resources Board by Governor Newsom in December 2020.
As a health policy researcher, Dr. Pacheco-Werner is focused on the social determinants of health (SDOH). She is an expert in community engagement for policy efforts and has worked with a wide range of agencies and systems to integrate community engagement practices into their decision-making processes. As a member of the CARB and SJVAPCD, she has helped usher in policies and regulations to combat climate change, such as the phasing out of gas-powered car and truck sales in California as well as programs for vulnerable communities to receive air filtration units to use during wildfire events.
Dr. Pacheco-Werner is a Mexican immigrant who grew up in the Central Valley. She hopes her work helps ground policy in the everyday practical challenges faced by communities in California. She lives with her husband and sons in Sanger, California.