M. Pilar Botana Martínez is a Research Scientist at Boston University School of Public Health. Trained as an Architect and Environmental Scientist her work focuses on identifying approaches to reduce harmful environmental exposures through interventions at the building and city scales. She uses community-engaged approaches and mixed methods, and prioritizes research in environmentally overburdened communities that leads to actionable outcomes. At CATCH, a multi-city initiative to make the impacts of extreme heat visible in frontline communities, she co-leads a series of Photovoice projects that elevate residents’ experiences of extreme heat in Boston, Phoenix, and New Orleans, through photos and narratives. She holds a PhD from Boston University School of Public Health and a Master of Architecture and Urban Planning from the University of A Coruña, Spain. Before pivoting into Environmental Health, she worked as an architect for over 20 years.