Dr. Edith De Guzman

Edith de Guzman (she/her) is an interdisciplinary researcher, practitioner, educator, and consultant working with diverse audiences to understand and address the impacts of climate change in under-represented communities. Her work investigates best practices for the sustainable transformation of the Los Angeles region and beyond, and has included research, demonstration projects, public policy and planning in the areas of water management, climate adaptation, heat mitigation, and urban forestry. She tackles these topics through the lenses of urban planning, public health, behavioral sciences, biophysical sciences, and public policy. From 2014 to 2020, Edith served as Director of Research at Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization TreePeople, where her projects included: the City of Los Angeles Stormwater Capture Master Plan; facilitating the creation of a Greening Plan with the communities of Inglewood and Lennox; bringing to fruition multiple urban water management demonstration projects; leading an extensive study tour of Australia’s response to its historic Millennium Drought and gleaning lessons for California; and producing the first interactive, high-resolution public map and spatial analysis of Los Angeles County’s urban forest. Edith co-founded and directs the Los Angeles Urban Cooling Collaborative, a multisectoral partnership working to alleviate the public health risks of extreme heat. Their research has found that one in four lives currently lost to extreme heat could be saved if L.A.’s land cover had additional trees and its built surfaces were more reflective, particularly where low-income communities and communities of color live and work. In 2023, Edith concluded her PhD studies at the UCLA Institute of the Environment & Sustainability. For her dissertation, she conducted three applied, interdisciplinary studies on climate adaptation and climate health equity using community-based methods. Edith earned a master’s in urban planning from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in history and art history, also from UCLA. When not working or studying, she can be found hiking, playing guitar, or creating art exhibitions that explore the human connection to the environment.