Paulina Solís Iturra

Paulina is a psychologist with a social and environmental focus, holding a degree in Psychology from Universidad Viña del Mar (UVM) and an academic background in Environmental Sciences from the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (UTFSM), Chile. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Psychology at Universidad Alberto Hurtado (UAH), where she researches the effects of water scarcity on the mental health of rural communities, and its intersections with gender, ethnicity, and environmental justice.

Since 2001, she has worked as an environmental educator and consultant with a community-based approach, developing, advising, and leading projects using participatory and nature-based methodologies, in collaboration with local NGOs, Chile’s Ministry of the Environment, the UNDP, and Fauna & Flora International (London). Her approach combines clinical, community, and ecological tools applied to psycho-social crises related to climate change and socio-environmental disasters.

Since 2014, she has been part of the Middlebury School in Chile team, where she currently serves as Assistant Director of Student Services and Special Projects, and as Academic Supervisor for internships and research with a territorial focus. She has developed academic initiatives and facilitated intercultural learning experiences that integrate critical reflection and connection with place in regions of high ecological and cultural value such as Chiloé and Patagonia. At the School in Chile, she supports international students in their cultural adaptation and language learning processes, helping them integrate with host families and local communities through respectful and symbiotic immersion.

Her academic interests include community resilience to climate change, bio-cultural conservation, human rights, water governance, and relational approaches to education. Her personal passions include cultural studies , music, documentary art, nature photography, bird watching, and creative writing.