Regan F. Patterson, Ph.D.

Dr. Regan F. Patterson is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. She was previously the Transportation Equity Research Fellow at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. Dr. Patterson worked with the Community Engagement Office at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Biomonitoring California program at the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. She worked with Communities for a Better Environment on their Just Transition climate justice initiative as well as Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice on their Bayview Hunters Point Environmental Justice Response Task Force. Dr. Patterson earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.

Karen Schkolnick

Karen Schkolnick is the Director of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Strategic Incentives Division.  She provides lead direction and oversight of the team that administers grant and incentive programs that achieve surplus and voluntary emissions reductions in support of the Air District’s mission of improving air quality and protecting the global climate. She first joined the Air District in 2006 as the Manager of the Public Information Officer and transferred as a manager to the Strategic Incentives Division in 2008.  Prior to joining the Air District, she also worked at the Monterey County’s Environmental Health Division (1998-2006) and at the City & County of San Francisco Solid Waste Management Program (1996-1998).

Arsenio Mataka

Arsenio Mataka serves as Deputy Executive Officer of Equity & Community Programs at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and is the primary internal and external contact for the Air District on environmental justice matters. He oversees the agency's community engagement, strategic incentives, technology implementation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Arsenio holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Sacramento State University and a Juris Doctor from Humphreys College School of Law. He served as a Biden-Harris Administration appointee to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he led the establishment of two new offices within the agency: the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity, and the Office of Environmental Justice. He last served as counselor to the secretary for climate change, environmental justice, civil rights, and equity at the agency.

His experience includes acting as senior advisor on environmental policy and law to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and as a special advisor to California Governor Jerry Brown, where he played a role in crafting climate change legislation. Prior to this, he served as assistant secretary for environmental justice and tribal affairs at the California Environmental Protection Agency.