Safina Center Founding President,
Ecologist and Author
carl safina
Carl Safina’s (he/him) writing about the living world has won a MacArthur “genius” prize, Pew, and Guggenheim Fellowships; book awards from Lannan, Orion, and the National Academies; and the John Burroughs, James Beard, and George Rabb medals.
His seabird studies earned a PhD in ecology from Rutgers; he then spent a decade working to ban high-seas drift nets and to overhaul U.S. fishing policy. These days his focus is writing and speaking. Safina is now the first Endowed Professor for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University (where he formerly co-chaired the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science), and he runs the not-for-profit Safina Center. He hosted the PBS series Saving the Ocean. His writing appears in The New York Times, TIME, Audubon, and on the Web at National Geographic News and Views, Huffington Post, CNN.com, and elsewhere. He is author of the classic book, Song for the Blue Ocean. Carl’s 11th book, Alfie & Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe, was published in October 2023. He lives on Long Island, New York with his wife Patricia and their dogs and feathered friends.
Mayra N. Mariño (she/her) is in charge of financing, bookkeeping, overseeing operations, and providing primary administrative support for The Safina Center staff.
With more than 20 years of experience in office management, Mayra has managed several legal employment firms and the Living Oceans Program at the National Audubon Society.
Mayra has worked for the Safina Center since its founding in 2003. She currently lives on Long Island, and in her spare time, she enjoys gardening, dancing, fishing, and spending time with her world-traveling daughter, Marlene.
business manager
mayra N. mariño
media, Outreach, and Fellows Program manager
Louis Pagillo
Louis Pagillo (he/they) highlights the work of current and emeritus fellows and shares relevant news and action items with the Safina Center online community.
They have a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Communications and a minor in Digital Arts from Stony Brook University, where they managed multiple student-led publications and specialized in covering COVID-19 research.
They enjoy reading, writing, and spending time with their cat.