At the Yale School of the Environment (YSE), Guillen has explored interdisciplinary climate change solutions.
“Something that's really special about YSE is it brings in people with different knowledge sets and life experiences, from both the U.S. and across the world,” she said. “I've found that issues surrounding the climate crisis will have the best chance of being solved by tackling them from multiple lenses and utilizing different perspectives.”
During the summer Guillen interned with The Nature Conservancy, helping farmers apply for federal USDA Climate-Smart Commodities grants. She also helped prepare them to integrate trees and shrubs into crop and animal farms as part of a goal to enhance carbon sequestration, soil health, biodiversity and water quality.
Ultimately, Guillen hopes her work with TNC might expand the adoption of these types of agroforestry practices in places like her hometown near the Mexican border and across the U.S.
“There's a lot of open space where I grew up and much of it is utilized by farmland,” she said. “Agroforestry has the potential to create environmental, social, and economic benefits for farmers in my community.”