Garcia headshot

Emerson Fellow

Yesenia Garcia

10th Class, 2003-2004

Yesenia is originally from Miami, Florida, and graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and a minor in History.  She is particularly interested in Latin American issues, such as the School of the Americas, FTAA, and immigration.  She served on the Undergraduate Government at Boston College as co-director of women’s issues, and volunteered for three years at the Women’s Lunch Place, a day shelter for women in Boston.  While abroad in Quito, Ecuador, she volunteered at the Center for Working Children as a tutor in the special education department.

Field placement: Children’s Alliance

Seattle, Washington

Yesenia’s project focused on building the capacity of the Children's Action Network (CAN), the action arm of the Children's Alliance made up of individuals who actively advocate on behalf of children in Washington.  Yesenia reconnected with members of the Latino community and recruited them to join CAN.  In addition, Yesenia identified and developed community leaders in various legislative districts inWashingtonState.

Policy placement: UnidosUS

Washington, D.C.

Yesenia was the point person on hunger issues in Latino communities for the National Council of La Raza.  She served as the key contact for NCLR in the broader anti-hunger advocacy community with the goal of informing coalition work on issues pertinent to Latinos.  Yesenia also developed a series of documents exploring a broad range of issues concerning hunger in the Latino community to both support and inform NCLR's advocacy efforts.

Publications