CERA Staff

Dr. Joseph Lyou serves as Executive Director of the California Environmental Rights Alliance and as the Governor's Appointee of the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board. Since 1990, Dr. Lyou has assisted community groups and concerned individuals with a variety of environmental protection issues, including air and water pollution, site remediation and corrective action, radioactive waste, toxic materials, and environmental justice. He is a member of the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Advisory Committee on Environmental Justice and serves on several other regulatory agency advisory and stakeholder groups.

From April 2000 to January 2002, Dr. Lyou served as Director of Programs at the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) Education Fund. From January 2002 to January 2003, he served as Interim Executive Director of the CLCV Education Fund. While with the CLCV Education Fund, Dr. Lyou developed, managed, implemented, and secured funding for programs that supported the organization’s mission of making underrepresented voices heard in environmental policymaking. His work included coalition building and policy development around state and local environmental issues, including public participation, air and water quality, toxics, and environmental justice.

Prior to joining the CLCV Education Fund, Dr. Lyou held the position of Executive Director of the Committee to Bridge the Gap, a Los Angeles public interest organization dedicated to protecting communities from the misuse of nuclear technology. While working for Committee to Bridge the Gap, Dr. Lyou authored and edited several technical and policy reports related to such subjects as the proposed Ward Valley radioactive waste disposal facility and the Rocketdyne Santa Susana nuclear and rocket engine testing facility.

Dr. Lyou specializes in issues related to research methods, statistics, open-government laws, and environmental policy. Dr. Lyou graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the California State University Northridge and earned his Masters of Science and Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Social Psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Angela Johnson Meszaros
Director of Policy and General Counsel
Special Advisor to South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board Member Joseph K. Lyou, Ph.D.

Ms. Angela Johnson Meszaros serves as Director of Policy and General Counsel for the California Environmental Rights Alliance. She also serves as Special Advisor to South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board Member Joseph K. Lyou, Ph.D. Angela Johnson Meszaros has nearly 15 years of experience working with communities and organizations on environmental justice issues in the Los Angeles region. During this time, Angela has used a range of tools to enhance the health, safety, and quality of life of low-income communities of color negatively impacted by environmental hazards including: litigation in federal and state court; filing regulatory challenges; lobbying state legislators; providing community legal education; providing community technical assistance in campaign development, strategic planning, fundraising, document analysis, and regulatory agency operations; testifying before relevant committees, boards and commissions; serving on agency policy workgroups; engaging in media advocacy; and mediating negotiations with a wide range of stakeholders. Angela’s efforts have been focused on policy development, implementation, and enforcement in a variety of environmental issues including: the impacts climate change policy on communities of color, enforcement of the provisions of the Clean Air Act, enhanced public participation in environmental decision-making, reducing childhood lead poisoning, defending against destructive freeway siting, stopping inappropriate siting of sources of air pollution, understanding land use policies and their impact on community health, reducing health impacts of air toxics from mobile and stationary sources, and air permit development and compliance.

Prior to joining CERA, Angela was a Research Associate at the University of Southern California’s Sustainable Cities Program where she explored the intersections between environmental sustainability and social justice, the role of networks in environmental justice work in the Los Angeles region, and the need for more parks in the urban core of cities. Previously, Angela was the Executive Director of the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund where she worked to understand, encourage, and engage voters of color on environmental issues. Angela also has served as a staff attorney with Environmental Defense and she was an echoing green fellow for three years during which she provided legal, community organizing, and policy development support to several Los Angeles area communities and organizations.

Angela is currently co-chair of the Environmental Justice Advisory Committee on the Implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32); a member of the Land Use Subgroup of the California Climate Action Team; the Chair of the Board of the Economic Roundtable, a non-profit organization that conducts research and implements programs that contribute to the economic self-sufficiency of individuals and communities; and a member of the California State Bar.

Angela holds both a degree in philosophy and a law degree from the University of Southern California.


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