Consultation Group Charter
AB 617 Consultation Group Final Charter_June 26_2026 - Approved by CARB's Board
AB 617 Community Air Protection Consultation Group
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The Consultation Group role is to advise the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on the implementation of Blueprint 2.0 and the Community Air Protection Program (CAP Program). The CAP Program's mission is to reduce disparities in air quality in the most overburdened communities and enable equity and environmental justice by centering and prioritizing the most disproportionately impacted communities’ needs.
Assembly Bill (AB) 617 (Stat. of 2017) directed the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop and implement a statewide strategy to reduce emissions of toxic air contaminants and criteria air pollutants in communities highly impacted by air pollution. CARB adopted its first statewide strategy in September 2018, and adopted its revised strategy, known as Blueprint 2.0, in October 2023.
CARB Advisory Committee Transparency Requirements: Consultation Group Members and their alternates are required to comply with these requirements.
Members and alternates are listed below.
Consultation Group Meetings
The Consultation Group is subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Gov. Code § 11120 et seq.) For all meetings of a quorum (majority) of Consultation Group members, CARB will issue a notice of agenda items released 10 days in advance of the meeting. The public must be allowed to attend and given an opportunity to comment on agenda items. CARB and the Consultation Group must meet all other procedural requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act. Meeting agendas and other documents are available on the meetings and events page.
Virtual Study Sessions
- September 14, 2026, 1:00 – 4:00 PM – Topics: The Community Air Protection Program Theory of Change – framing questions about health and ways to assess the impact and the CARB Roadmap to Reduce Air Toxics
- October 29, 2026, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Topics: Reducing Air Pollution, Program Improvements, and Community Air Grants Cycle 6 Request for Applications
Next Consultation Group Meeting - December 2, 2026 - CARB Southern CA Headquarters (Riverside) - Virtual Hybrid Meeting
Consultation Group Members and Alternates
On June 26, 2025, the CARB Board appointed 27 Members and Alternate Members to the Community Air Protection Consultation Group (Consultation Group). In October 2025, the CARB Board appointed Co-Chair Diane Takvorian to join Co-Chair Dr. John Balmes to lead the Consultation Group.
The Consultation Group may meet up to 3 times annually, at the CalEPA Headquarters building in Sacramento or the CARB Headquarters Building in Riverside. Meeting formats may be in-person, or hybrid. Under current law all Consultation Group members may appear virtually subject to the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act. Travel guidance is available for Consultation Group Members.
Consultation Group Co-Chairs
1. Dr. John Balmes, CARB Board Member
2. Diane Takvorian, CARB Board Member
Academia / Community Science
3. Dr. Jonathan London – UC Davis
4. Dr. Rebecca E. Skinner - Manylabs
Air Districts
5. Belen Leon-Lopez - Imperial County APCD / Alternate: vacant
6. Arsenio Mataka - Bay Area AD / Alternate: Dr. Philip Fine
7. Dr. Alberto Ayala – Sacramento Metropolitan APCD / Alternate: Janice Lam Snyder
8. Ryan Hayashi – San Joaquin Valley APCD / Alternate: Stephanie Ng
9. Dr. Anissa Heard-Johnson – South Coast AQMD / Alternate: Walter Shen
10. Domingo Vigil, San Diego APCD / Alternate: Shalem Aboody-Lopez
Community and / or Environmental Justice Representatives (includes EJ organizations, Community Steering Committees (CSCs) and Consistently Nominated Communities (CNCs)
11. Baldwin Moy, CA Rural Legal Assistance / Alternate: vacant
12. Kevin Hamilton, San Joaquin Valley Medical Advocates for Healthy Air
13. Mary Valdemar, San Bernardino Muscoy CSC
14. Jasmine Beltran, Southeast Los Angeles CSC
15. Mary Elizabeth, Stockton CSC / Alternate: Margo Praus
16. Y'Anad Burrell, Richmond-North Richmond, CSC / Alternate: BK White
17. Bishop Chris Baker, South Sacramento / Florin CSC
18. Maximilian Rosa, Sierra Service Project, Del Paso Heights/North Sacramento CNC
19. Vacant
Entities Required by AB 617
20. Dr. David Lo, Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants and UC Riverside Medical School BREATHE Center and Center for Health Disparities Research and Member
21. Paula Torrado Plazas, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
Industry and Business
22. Christine Zimmerman, Western States Petroleum Association / Alternate: Bob Brown
23. Dirk Piersma, Gemperle Family Farms
24. Cassie Lopina, ZE / AJW Inc. / Alternate: Mary Solecki
25. Tim Carmichael, California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance
Local Government
26. Prithvi Deore, Southern California Association of Governments / Alternate: Scott Strelecki
27. Kirsten Uchitel, San Diego Association of Government
Tribal Government
28. Vacant
Acronyms Glossary
AD – Air District
APCD – Air Pollution Control District
AQMD – Air Quality Management District
CA – California
CSC – Community Steering Committee
CNC – Consistently Nominated Community
UC – University of California
Consultation Group Archives
In January 2018, CARB convened the multi-stakeholder Consultation Group to fulfill the AB 617 requirement to consult with a range of stakeholders to develop a statewide strategy, known as the Program Blueprint. Consultation Group membership participation declined between 2018 and 2023 as members resigned. In March 2024, CARB dissolved the Consultation Group and began preparations to fulfill its commitment in Blueprint 2.0 to reinvigorate the Consultation Group.
Consultation Group (2018-2023) information- includes meeting summaries, agendas, members, and background materials from meetings of the Consultation Group between 2018 through 2023.
Assessment Report of the Consultation Group - February 2022– This report provides summarized findings of focused interviews of Consultation Group members conducted by the Sacramento State University Consensus and Collaboration Program. The purpose of this assessment was to develop an understanding of the Consultation Group dynamics, identify the sources and nature of tensions and/or challenges within the Consultation Group, and explore possible process design solutions to assist the Consultation Group to productively move forward.
Contacto
Community Air Protection Consultation Group