‘I pray everybody respects wildlife, because if they value it, they’ll protect it.’

Jamesport

“When I was 3, my father and I found a turtle with a missing leg in a park near my grandmother’s house. I was horrified, and it broke my heart because I couldn’t understand how it was surviving without getting any help. As the years went by, animals always touched my soul. I feel very connected being an empath by nature. I majored in marine biology in college but didn’t take that path right away. Instead, I opened my own real estate brokerage.

With increased overpopulation and pollution, turtles are the No. 1 organism that is the most endangered on the planet.

“As I got older, I felt I wanted to pursue my passion and make a difference. In 2009, I volunteered at a rescue center in Hampton Bays. I soon saw that the turtles needed complex care other than what the waterfowl and mammals needed. Turtles heal slowly. I always dreamed of having my own facility where I can take the turtles and give them expert care. I then founded the nonprofit organization Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons in May 2012, and I’m the executive director. We average about 200 patients per year, and 95 percent of those are released and 5 percent either pass away or stay in our sanctuary for the rest of their lives because they’re non releasable, meaning they can’t naturally protect themselves in the wild. We’re here seven days a week all year long.

“We’re very happy to give them our best because I feel turtles are the underdogs of the wildlife world. When the machines come to work on Long Island for construction, turtles can’t get out of the way like most wildlife can. With increased overpopulation and pollution, turtles are the No. 1 organism that is the most endangered on the planet. We also have an assurance colony in East Hampton with males and females, and we release the babies into the wild to increase the population. I also have a 24-hour hotline to help turtles in trouble all over the United States. For me, the turtle release, when I bring them back to their home, is the most important part. It’s so emotional to see them come to our hospital in critical condition and after rehab to release them after all they went through. I pray everybody respects wildlife, because if they value it, they’ll protect it. That’s what I hope that I could leave as a legacy.”

Interviewed by Liza Burby

‘I hope my art will make inroads in inspiring others into action, toward a better world for newer generations to come.’

Jamesport

“During infancy, my parents — having noticed my not responding to noise — consulted doctors until they could find one that agreed with their suspicions. It was recommended that I be tested and educated right away so that I could cope best with my newfound disability and learn to speak. I was enrolled at a school for the deaf at age 2, going on 3. My parents were taking music lessons then and I got included along. My music teacher being frustrated with my ability to play the piano right phoned my parents advising that I get art lessons instead. This move came as a great relief on my part as I was playing only by sight as opposed to ear.

“Challenge after challenge followed through elementary and high school. After school, I persisted through my art classes and speech therapy in between. Tutors helped fill any void in my education throughout the years, and for this, I am grateful! I received scholarships toward a master’s degree, including a fellowship in my junior year. During this period, hyperrealism happened to be a strong trend in NYC. I readily took upon this explosively large-scale type of realism in my work for its mastery of colorful detail.

Having taught and mentored deaf youth over previous years, it has been my strong intent to memorialize the plight of our world’s children, granting them public awareness through my art.

“Up to the present time, I had wished to create a theme; a story expressed as a portrait series. I wanted minority children to be memorialized and this deaf-blind infant from Texas named Orion caught my attention via Facebook. Both his parents being deaf, gladly honored my request to seek through their family album for some frames of Orion. I have so far completed six portraits of Orion, who, not unlike me as a child, exhibited a disheveled crop of white hair, lanky limbs, and was often barefoot in shorts. The only difference was that I had eyes to see and had much greater opportunity to run and play without getting injured.

“Having taught and mentored deaf youth over previous years, it has been my strong intent to memorialize the plight of our world’s children, granting them public awareness through my art. As a society, there is much room for improvement and reform in protecting our children and their future. I hope my art will make inroads in inspiring others into action, toward a better world for newer generations to come.”

Interviewed by Jay Max