Yolanda graduated from the Universidad Nacional in Marine Biology. She joined INBio as a curator responsible for specimen identification, training of other staff and collection management. She obtained her Master's degree at San Francisco State University, California, USA, and the California Academy of Sciences. Yolanda has been interested in the taxonomy and phylogeny of opisthobranch mollusks. She has published 3 papers in international and national journals describing new species in Costa Rica, and has 6 scientific papers in preparation.