About Us

At Breathe SoCal, our mission is to promote clean air and healthy lungs through research, education, advocacy and technology.

We work to provide resources that educate families living in the Southern California region to improve their community’s air quality and lung health.

There are 1.2 million California children who have asthma, and half of them have never been given an asthma management plan. Of the 1.2 million, 200,000 live in Los Angeles – a city with some of the nation’s worst air quality. We provide under-resourced neighborhoods with effective lung health services to change how they live their everyday lives. It can increase their access to proper healthcare, improve their overall health, and keep children in school. The fight for clean air is a tough battle, but it is possible.

We work with local experts, community members, and policymakers to advocate for the best practices in reclaiming the air you breathe and protecting every lung. We believe we are all in this together!

Help us end air pollution and usher in healthy lungs for all. Join us and make a lasting impact in your community.

showing children a lung diagram
Why Img

Our Focus

Breathe Southern California is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that promotes clean air and healthy lungs through  research, education, advocacy, and technology.

Our goals are to:
• promote education, support, and early diagnosis for individuals suffering from respiratory-related chronic conditions such as asthma, emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD);
• prevent lung disease by addressing its major causes: tobacco use and air pollution;
• to conduct research on lung disease;
• to promote clean technology and clean energy solutions to air pollution and climate change.

Our History

Breathe Southern California (Breathe SoCal) was first formed in 1903 as an independent lung health organization called the Los Angeles Society for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis. The organization served the city’s growing population of more than 300,000. For more than 30 years, the organization was committed to increasing public awareness about the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic and other lung-related diseases-including asthma, bronchitis and emphysema and working towards eradicating these diseases.

Since its creation in 1903, Breathe SoCal has undergone a number of name changes, including:

Speaking at podium
1927

Incorporated as Los Angeles Tuberculosis & Health Association

1952

Los Angeles County Tuberculosis and Health Association

1958

Tuberculosis & Health Association of Los Angeles County

1968

Tuberculosis & Respiratory Disease Association of Los Angeles County

1974

Lung Association of Los Angeles County

1979

American Lung Association of Los Angeles County

2006

BREATHE California of Los Angeles County

2020

Breathe Southern California

Advances in technology, healthcare access and medicine all contributed to a dramatic downturn in active TB cases.

As a result, the organization began to take an increased interest in the relationships between air pollution and respiratory disease. During the mid-20th Century, the fight against smog in Los Angeles became a major effort and the measuring of air pollution began. In the early 1970s, the organization focused on the prevention and control of lung disease and sponsored extensive research on the effects of air pollution on respiratory health. We were one of the first organizations to do so and we carry on this tradition today. For a number of years, the organization was affiliated with the American Lung Association (ALA) and American Lung Association of California (ALAC). In 2006, the organization ended its affiliation with ALA and ALAC, and is no longer affiliated in any way with those organizations.

Breathe SoCal is a member of the Breathe America Alliance, a network of nationwide independent lung health organizations, and the Breathe California Coalition, which includes two other Breathe California organizations that focus on the Sacramento Region and the San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley/Central Coast.

The Breathe Southern California coalition focuses on localized programs and comes together to implement programs and research that benefit all Californians. We work together to advance primary and secondary lung disease prevention and interventions, as well as advocate for clean air policies and practices in Sacramento.

To learn more about the activities of our affiliates and our statewide presence, visit www.breathecalifornia.org.

Breathe Southern California is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusivity throughout our organization, including in our hiring process, employment practices, legislative actions, and the programs and services we offer communities. View our full DEI policy.

OUR leadership

Executive Board

Lucy
Lucy Labruzzo
Chair
President & CEO
Engineering Partners Incorporated
Zach
Zach Woolridge
Treasurer
Vice President, Banker at JP Morgan Private Bank
Christopher Musgrave
Christopher Musgrave
Secretary
Strategy Director
Accenture

Board of Directors

Andrea Caster, Esq.Kelly Young
Law Office of Andrea Merrell Caster
Immediate Past Chair
Gavin Chan
Senior Manager, Price Waterhouse Coopers LLC
Angela DePaoli
President & CEO, Bargas Environmental Consulting
Robert L. Duitsman
Attorney-at-Law
Dave Grant
Chief Human Resources Officer, Biola University
Diana Guth
Owner, Home Respiratory Care
Lawrence M. Lebowsky
Law Office of Lawrence Lebowsky
Megan Lorenz Angarita
Managing Attorney – Environmental, Southern California Gas Company
Christopher Musgrave
Business Strategy Manager, Accenture
Bryant “Bo” Okoroji
Steerpoint Capital
Whitney O'Neill
Senior Director of State Government Affairs, Charter Communications
Anita Quiñonez-Gabrielian
Partner, CG Benefits Group
Reza Ronaghi, M.D.
Interventional Pulmonologist, Critical Care Physician, UCLA Health
Kara C. Sax
CEO, The Sax Agency
Erika Schimmel-Guiles
Director, Design & Project Management, San Diego Gas & Electric
Steven L. Bryson, Esq.
Law Office of Steven L. Bryson
Justina Garcia
Principal Manager, Policy Engagement and Public Affairs, Southern California Edison
Kelly Young
Partner, Head of Enterprise Risk, Ayres Management Corporation
OUR team

Staff

Marc
Marc Carrel
President & CEO
Ext 250
MCarrel@breathesocal.org
Michelle
Michelle Buckner
Executive Assistant
MBuckner@breathesocal.org
Gilmar
Gilmar Flores
Director of Programs & Research
Ext 231
GFlores@breathesocal.org
Tigan
Tigran Agdaian
Manager of Advocacy &
Public Policy
Ext 233
TAgdaian@breathesocal.org
Monique
Monique Carmona
Director of Communications
Ext 230
MCarmona@breathesocal.org
Jacqueline
Jacqueline Vazquez
Program Manager for the BEAM program.
Ext 228
JVazquez@breathesocal.org
Jonathan
Jonathan Mercado Environmental Programs Manger
Ext 288
JMercado@breathesocal.org
Silvia
Silvia Segura
Program and Outreach Associate - Blue SkyLA Program Lead
Ext 262
SSegura@breathesocal.org
Savannah
Savannah Guevara
Program & Outreach Associate
Ext 224
SGuevara@breathesocal.org
Arielle
Arielle KlapardaAdvocacy and Program Associate
Ext 222
AKlaparda@breathesocal.org

Leidi
Leidi Reyes
Health Educator - BEAM
Ext 256
LReyes@breathesocal.org
Daniella
Daniela Castillo
Health Educator
Ext 225
DCastillo@breathesocal.org
Brando
Brando Uscadegui
Health Educator
Ext 237 BUscategui@breathesocal.org
Arnell
Arnell Ware
Stockroom/Mailroom
AWare@breathesocal.org‍
Dulce
Dulce Bertrand
Administrator Support
DBertrand@breathesocal.org
Dulce
M‍artha Ramos
Communications Associate
MRamos@breathesocal.org
Clemence
Clemence Amia Environmental Program Associate CAmia@breathesocal.org
Marivel
Marivel Medina - Public
Health AmeriCorps Fellow
MMedina@breathesocal.org
Esmeralda
Esmeralda Gomez - Public
Health AmeriCorps Fellow
EGomez@breathesocal.org
Kelly
Kelly Vuong – Public Health AmeriCorps Fellow
KVuong@breathesocal.org
Cheyla
C‍heyla Reyes
California Climate Action
Corp Fellow
CReyes@breathesocal.org‍
Eliana
Eliana Urrego
California Climate Action
Corp Fellow

EUrrego@breathesocal.org
Eliana
Shirleya Williams
California Climate Action
Corp Fellow

SWilliams@breathesocal.org
Savannah
Sierra Andrade
‍‍California Climate Action
Corp Fellow

SAndrade@breathesocal.org