Angel Lopez

CHCI Public Policy Fellow

Presented by API

Hometown: Wayne, Michigan

School: New York University

Degree: B.A. in Public Policy

Placement: American Petroleum Institute

Angel Lopez (he/him) is a first-generation Mexican- American born and raised in the small town of Wayne, Michigan. The son of two hardworking immigrants, he considers himself blessed to have been instilled with the values of hard work, persistence, and perseverance from an early age. Even in a community of limited means, his dreams were always supported and made to feel within reach. Thanks to the love his family and community provided, he knew early on that he was committed to improving the lives of his loved ones.

Angel graduated from New York University (NYU) with a degree in Public Policy. As an undergraduate, Angel focused on exploring the many ways in

which one could make a difference for their community at home and abroad. As a result, he took advantage of the endless opportunities afforded to him not just in New York City but in Abu Dhabi and London, where he spent multiple semesters abroad. He was a William Randolph Hearst Fellow for The Aspen Institute’s Program of Philanthropy and Social Innovation where he helped nonprofit organizations develop a nonprofit tax file database after IRS budget cuts. He also interned for the Office of Attorney General Letita James where he was a part of the Operations and Scheduling team in charge of the Attorney General’s schedule. As an undergraduate, Angel also found a passion and interest for the energy sector and wrote his senior thesis on the environmental impacts of semiconductors. This led him to also intern for the League of Conservation Voters where he worked as a legislative assistant on matters related to the Hispanic community and sustainability. More recently, after graduating Angel interned for the Aspen Institute again to work on their yearly IDEAS Festival. As a part of the Aspen Institute’s IDEAS Festival team, he researched and helped with event planning and production for one of the nation’s premier think tank productions.

As a CHCI Public Policy fellow, Angel is looking forward to working on Capitol Hill where he can put the lessons from his education and experience to use. He hopes to be able to continue learning and growing into the person he needs to be to fulfill his life’s goal: creating a more equal, equitable, and prosperous home for his community and others.