Patricia Paladines

Patricia Paladines has over 25 years of experience working with conservation-oriented non-profits including the National Audubon Society, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Centre ValBio in Madagascar (with offices at Stony Brook University). Patricia applies her academic background in Biology, Anthropology, and Psychology toward engaging diverse audiences in the appreciation of the natural world. As a native Spanish speaker, she has developed programs for English Language Learners on Long Island; and after meeting a deaf child in Madagascar, she is currently working on an environmental education project for the Deaf community. Patricia shares her love of the natural world through photography, writing and volunteering time to local organizations that work toward engaging people with nature. Patricia currently works as a communications consultant at Sunshine Comes First, a foundation that supports projects in Madagascar and other developing countries.

Patricia Paladines’ work as a photographer and environmental educator shares a common thread – the desire to share with others the beauty that surrounds us every day. Inspired by her Ecuadorian grandfather who traveled his country by train as peripatetic portrait photographer, Patricia picked up the camera at an early age, capturing images of her family and her Chicago neighborhood. Being a first-generation immigrant living in one of Chicago’s most racist neighborhoods, her focus soon turned to capturing the beauty of human diversity. Patricia moved to New York City in the mid 1980’s where she continued to explore diversity and social justice issues with her camera while working as a photo researcher and master black & white printer at the New-York Historical Society.

After moving to Long Island, Patricia began working with environmentalists, activists who seek justice for all living beings on this planet. She began to capture the other lives that often go unnoticed by people, the diversity of birds, plants, landscapes, and returned to school to study Biology and conservation. She has since worked as an environmental educator with various organizations on Long Island.