Betty Guardado grew up in south central Los Angeles. Her father worked as a butcher until Betty was 11 years old, when he had an accident that left him disabled. At that time, Betty's mother went to work cleaning houses and Betty took care of the household – cooking, cleaning, and taking care of her two younger brothers.

While working as a housekeeper at the Century Plaza Hotel, Betty became involved in the hospitality workers union. After much success as a union organizer for hotel workers in Los Angeles, Betty moved to Arizona in 2007. As the director of organizing in Phoenix, Betty has conducted campaigns and negotiated contracts for thousands of hotel and food-service workers around Maricopa County. She also helped to lead successful independent voter turnout campaigns to elect several Phoenix City Council members, developing young leaders, and empowering working-class families.

In 2018, Betty decided to run for Phoenix City Council. In May of 2019, she won her election by 25 percentage points, sweeping every precinct in the District. Today, Betty represents Phoenix District 5, one of the most diverse districts in the city. She is working to raise living conditions in those neighborhoods, while helping to bring responsible economic development to all of Phoenix.​

Betty is the chair of the Community and Cultural Investment Subcommittee and serves on the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning Subcommittee.

She has previously served as a member of the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee, the Land Use and Livability Subcommittee, the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee and Co-Chaired the Latino Cultural Arts Center Ad Hoc Committee. Betty also served as Vice Mayor of Phoenix from November 2019 to January 2021.​

She and her husband have lived in the Maryvale neighborhood for twelve years – where they raise their two children.​​