Santiago has extensive experience as a tour leader, naturalist and photographer, built over three decades in tourism operations across Latin America and Europe. His photography of the remarkable places he has visited has been published internationally and he has been invited as a keynote speaker to numerous events over the years.

Passionate about conservation, particularly in the Galapagos Islands where he worked as a naturalist for many years, Santiago is a member of the board of the Charles Darwin Foundation one of the leading Galapagos conservation organizations.

In recent years Santiago has worked as an adviser for a number of ecotourism projects in Colombia as part of a project funded by the UK government.