Paula Tagle

Paula Tagle, born in Ecuador, studied Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Guayaquil, specializing in Geology. During her university years, she traveled extensively across the Americas and Europe. In 1991-1992, she worked at a mine, focusing on sustainable methods for extracting gold and silver. Her interest in volcanoes led her to the Galapagos Islands, where she became a Naturalist for the Galapagos National Park in 1992. From 1994 to 1997, she lived in Belgium, earning a master’s degree in Quaternary Geology from the Free University of Brussels.

Paula has been with Lindblad Expeditions since 1997 as Naturalist and Expedition Leader, in the Galapagos Islands, Baja California, the Caribbean, the Upper Amazon, Cuba, Colombia, Central America, and Europe. In 2004, she authored the book "Galapagos Bedtime Stories.” Paula holds a US sailing certification from Annapolis Sailing School, qualifying her to skipper center boats and keelboats up to 40 feet. She also has a "Professional Chocolatier" certificate from the Canadian Ecole Chocolat and has completed and certified level 2 from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET). Since 2004, she has written a column for El Universo, one of Ecuador's most prestigious newspapers. In 2017, she became the first certified National Geographic Educator worldwide and in 2019 she received her Photo Instructor certification in a multi-day training workshop, developed and taught by National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions photographers. As a member of the General Assembly of the Charles Darwin Foundation, Paula helps to raise funds for important conservation projects and writes articles to publicize their challenges, achievements, and scientific discoveries. She believes in sharing knowledge using the tools of thematic interpretation, especially by reaching the child within us.