Magdalena Terneus

Magdalena Terneus has always been passionate about nature, and an animal lover ever since she can remember.   Magdalena studied Natural Science- Biology at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania on a full scholarship, with the idea of working as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands.  After graduating from Lock Haven, she went back to Ecuador and worked in the La Selva Lodge in the Ecuadorean rain forest.   After working in the rain forest, she took the Galapagos guide course, so she could work as a guide in the Galapagos Islands.

Magdalena worked as a Naturalist for a few years, and then decided to get a Master’s degree in Nutrition and Community Health at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, as well as a degree in Gender Communities and development of sustainable projects from FLACSO and University of South Florida. After obtaining her Master’s degree she worked as the Coordinator of the Nutrition Department of the same university.  She also worked in several community projects, such as lead poisoning in the city of Quito and was part of the Harvard team for researching the effects of lead poisoning in La Victoria, a small village near Quito where most of the population worked in the pottery industry.  Magdalena was also the president of a Municipal Project “Quito en Forma” and she organized the first Latin American congress on eating disorders.   Magdalena’s heart was always in the Galapagos Islands, however.  So, to keep her passion alive, she taught a seminar about Galapagos while working at the University.

The Magic of the islands dragged her back, and she worked as a free-lance naturalist guide for Lindblad Expeditions and as Tour leader for other companies in the islands. She continues to be passionate about animals, and in the last years she has visited the west coast of Africa, South Georgia and Antarctica.  She is also very involved in the rescue of street dogs in the city of Quito and its environs. Magdalena continues to be an activist for the protection of animals, especially in the Galapagos Islands.