Yesenia is interested in the sustainable management of tree cover in agricultural landscapes as a strategy to support rural livelihoods while enhancing biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services production. She is currently focusing on the role of live fences and agroforestry in Costa Rican biological corridor projects. Before starting her PhD at ESPM in 2020, Yesenia studied ant-mediated seed dispersal in Borneo on a Fulbright in Malaysia, and carried out various research projects in the forests of Costa Rica, Panama, and Hawai’i. She earned a B.S. in Environmental Science at Brown University.