Her teaching and extension focus is sustainable landscapes and her program addresses best design practices and quality of life in residential and urban landscapes. She is also a faculty member in the Center for Landscape Conservation and Ecology (CLCE), and the statewide extension specialist in landscape design. Dr. Hansen has an MLA and PhD in landscape architecture. She worked for a private landscape architecture firm in Gainesville, Florida for eight years and as an adjunct faculty for seven years in the landscape architecture department at UF before joining the environmental horticulture department where she teaches the residential landscape design courses.