Yesi Ramirez transitioned from a promising legal career, with aspirations of becoming a juvenile public defender, to the dynamic field of casting. Over the past 21 years, she has built a distinguished career casting a diverse array of projects, including studio films, critically acclaimed independent films, television series and pilots.

Yesi is currently serving as Senior Vice President of Casting for Walt Disney Studios, where she is the head of casting for Searchlight Pictures. In this role, she has supervised THE MENU, FLAMIN’ HOT, and the upcoming NIGHTBITCH. In addition to this, she has also cast films such as James Mangold’s upcoming film A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, the thriller HOLD YOUR BREATH starring Sarah Paulson, the murder mystery comedy SEE HOW THEY RUN and CHEVALIER, based on the true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

Prior to the Walt Disney Company acquiring Twentieth Century Fox, Yesi joined as Vice President of Casting, where she cast several films, including George Tillman Jr.’s THE HATE U GIVE, based on the bestselling novel, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and was nominated for an Artios Award, as well as Simon Curtis’ THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN.

In 2017, Yesi was honored with an Artios Award and Film Independent’s Robert Altman Award for her work as a casting director on the Academy Award-winning film MOONLIGHT, directed by Barry Jenkins.

In addition to these high-profile projects, Yesi has cast a range of independent films and shows, such as Aaron Katz’s GEMINI and BRETT GELMAN’S DINNER IN for Adult Swim and Abso Lutely Productions.

Earlier in her career, Yesi was a key member of the casting teams for major productions, including films STAR TREAK: BEYOND, MAGIC MIKE XXL, NEBRASKA, 21 JUMP STREET, LOVE & OTHER DRUGS, BLOOD DIAMOND, LEMONADE MOUTH and the series EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS, among others.