Ruchi is a PhD student in Geography and Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and the Environment at Penn State. She is interested in the social and environmental impacts of development and land use policy in Latin America, including how to better conserve biodiversity while improving the livelihoods of local people in human-modified landscapes. Since 2018, Ruchi has worked with a conservation non-profit, Paso Pacífico, to understand environmental and conservation challenges in El Salvador. Her research examines the uneven development impacts of current efforts to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable ecotourism along El Salvador's Balsamo Coast. She formerly worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency and served with the Peace Corps in Paraguay.