Lana Zimmerman

lzimmerman@g.ucla.edu

Project Manager of Heat Research

Lana Zimmerman (she/her) is the project manager of heat research at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. Lana researches issues related to extreme heat to inform evidence-based heat governance. The topics of her work span from the planning of built and natural shade to the analysis of existing heat legislation in the U.S., with a particular focus on California’s policy landscape.

Lana has a background in data analytics, research translation, and community advocacy. Prior to joining the Center, Lana worked for the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute, conducting quantitative analysis and research communication for the Latino Data Hub, a platform that provides tools to expand economic opportunity and political representation. Throughout her career, Lana has worked with tribal governments, community-based organizations, and local government leaders.

Lana holds a Master of Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from California State University, Northridge. She is passionate about helping first-generation college students and other underrepresented groups navigate public policy spaces.

Media Coverage

LAist

Southern California is getting hotter. LA County now has a heat action plan

Coachella Valley Independent

Creating Shade: The Goal of the Eastern Coachella Valley Shade Equity Master Plan Is to Help Low-Income Farmworkers and Their Families Stay Cool

UCLA Newsroom

UCLA Connects: 9 ways scholarship and service benefited campus, LA and the world in 2025

UCLA Newsroom

The Top 25 Bruinventions of the 21st Century (So Far)

Los Angeles Magazine

Planting Shade: Cooling Down L.A. Before The 2028 Olympic Games

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CURRENT PROJECT(S)

Mapping Shade: A New Lens on Heat Equity

Empowering people to stay outside when it’s hot

Shade is the most effective way to cool people. Our national Shade Map, created in collaboration with American Forests, empowers communities to identify shade gaps and target investments in trees and shade infrastructure. Our researchers are analyzing the shade data for 15 communities across the U.S.

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Researcher(s): V. Kelly Turner, Lana Zimmerman, and Jean Claude Iradukunda

Funder: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

HeatReady Schools

The increasing impacts of extreme heat on health are intensified for children. However, schools lack effective solutions. Designed in collaboration with schools, the HeatReady Schools Southwest Regional Resilience Innovation Incubator will create school-level solutions for heat-prone regions, expand heat illness prevention and response training, promote greater awareness and action to reduce heat illness, promote safe activity, improve learning, and align with school heat resilience programs and policies.

Researcher(s): V. Kelly Turner and Lana Zimmerman

Funder: National Science Foundation

California Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Evaluation

As evaluators of the California Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation’s Extreme Heat and Community Resilience, our experts are assessing project successes and barriers as well as examining cooling strategies implemented in California and internationally.

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Researcher(s): V. Kelly Turner, C.J. Gabbe, Lana Zimmerman, Camille Burrus, Zachary Wampler

Funder: California Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation

Eastern Coachella Valley Shade Equity Master Plan

The Eastern Coachella Valley Shade Equity Master Plan will provide a roadmap for the unincorporated communities of Mecca, North Shore, Oasis, and Thermal to invest in new shade infrastructure and adapt to extreme heat. The plan will recommend where and how to create more shade based on input from residents, government, and other key stakeholders, as well as a detailed analysis of needs and opportunities. The Luskin Center for Innovation is working with Kounkuey Design Initiative to identify policy pathways and actionable strategies for increasing shade in these areas.

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Researcher(s): V. Kelly Turner, Lana Zimmerman, Zachary Wampler, and Jean Claude Iradukunda

Funder: California Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation

Effective Funding Strategies to Cool Californians in their Homes and Schools

We are providing a menu of feasible strategies to support the California State Legislature’s ability to facilitate the adoption of mechanical cooling, such as air conditioning, in homes and schools. We are focusing on home and schools because these are two settings where populations most sensitive to heat—infants, youth, seniors, and those with medical issues—spend the most time. This project is informed by engagement with California legislators, agency staff, nonprofit leaders, and heat legislation research across the country.

Researcher(s): V. Kelly Turner and Lana Zimmerman

Funder: Resources Legacy Fund

Evaluating Community Heat Adaptation Evaluation Capacity and Federal Support Criteria

This project examines the experience of communities currently engaging in heat planning and infrastructure investments through California’s new Extreme Heat and Community Resilience program to understand if and how supportive policies can reduce disconnects between local capacity and federal expectations.

Researcher(s): CJ Gabbe and Lana Zimmerman

Funder: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration