Jonathan was born into one of only a handful of families that reaches back five generations in Galápagos, in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, on San Cristobal Island. He first left the islands when he won a highly-coveted scholarship to finish his studies in the U.S.  This was the start of his life-long passion for science and languages. He earned a bachelor’s degree in integrative biology from the University of Florida and later spent time in Europe, where he learned French. He is now fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

Jonathan returned to his beloved Galápagos to work as a language instructor and environmental club teacher. He subsequently took the Galápagos National Park guide training course, allowing him to combine a love for the islands with his scientific training He served as the Galápagos liaison for the Fulbright New Century Scholar Project, financed by the U.S. When he is not exploring on our expeditions, he splits time between Quito and his coffee farm he has at the highlands of the Galapagos, where he farms specialty coffee and Cacao.

Jonathan has worked as a naturalist with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic for more than 10 years. He had worked as a naturalist, undersea specialist and Photo Instructor. He received his Photo Instructor certification in a multi-day training workshop.  Developed and taught by National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions photographers, the workshop helped him develop additional insight and skills necessary to help you better understand your camera and the basics of composition — to better capture the moments at the heart of your expedition.