Melissa Guardaro is an assistant research professor in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation at Arizona State University and works for the Healthy Urban Environments Initiative (HUE) and Knowledge Exchange for Resilience (KER). Her research focuses on adaptation, equity, vulnerability, urban policy, and governance for the mitigation and adaptation to extreme heat and urban heat island effects. She is currently co-leading the Arizona Heat Preparedness and Resilience Workgroup which coordinates regional heat mitigation and adaptation efforts. She is working to create neighborhood heat solutions that improve thermal comfort and public health outcomes with the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, as well as with The Nature Conservancy, the Maricopa County Health Department, and community-based organizations. She completed a Ph. D. in Sustainability from Arizona State University, a master’s degree in Sustainability and Environmental Management from Harvard, and an MBA from Columbia University.