Patrick J. Lynch(II)
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Patrick J. Lynch is an American attorney, filmmaker, kayaker and environmental advocate. He is best known in the U.S. for his work on education reform, as Co-Founder (along with Kyle McEntee) of the legal education nonprofit Law School Transparency. In Chile he is most well known for his work stopping three large dams while at the helm of Futaleufu Riverkeeper, a Chilean NGO and member of the global Waterkeeper Alliance. Patrick is a member of the World Commission on Environmental Law and writes about water use and energy policy in the context of climate change, including growth of the global rights for nature movement.
Patrick studied at Harvard Kennedy School on a Louis Bacon Environmental Fellowship, named after conservation philanthropist Louis Bacon. He has participated in several kayaking expeditions in South America through the Chilean sports/professional collective Bestias del Sur Salvaje, founded by friends and collaborators Jens Benohr and Paulo Urrutia. One of their expeditions became the subject of the 2019 documentary Río Sagrado, which Patrick co-produced along with Benohr, directors Nic Ellena and Erick Vigouroux, Urrutia as photographer, and editor and principal photographer Carlos Lastra Barros. The documentary explores the heart of Mapuche territory and introduces key people working to protect the San Pedro watershed from a dam, including several Mapuche leaders. The expedition received funding from National Geographic, Planet Fuel and Outdoor Research. The film premiered on National Geographic's channel in March, 2019 in four countries (Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Peru).
Patrick's career shift away from law and into filmmaking as an advocacy tool began when he attended Telluride Mountainfilm festival in 2016. He decided more needed to be done to address real-world issues like climate change and water conservation. At Telluride he held a meeting of the minds between several key people with ties to Chile. They include actress and friend Juanita Ringeling, festival organizer Henry Lystad, kayaker and friend Ben Stookesberry, conservation philanthropist Don Weeden, and Brazilian filmmakers Markus Bruno and Jessica Nolte.
At Harvard Kennedy School, Patrick worked for the school's Arctic Initiative and advised the National Congress of American Indians on climate issues through the Harvard University Native American Project (HUNAP). As a millennial who lives in two countries and has worked in a variety of fields, Patrick is part of a new crop of environmental advocates trying to break down borders by merging the outdoors, filmmaking, and policy.
Patrick studied at Harvard Kennedy School on a Louis Bacon Environmental Fellowship, named after conservation philanthropist Louis Bacon. He has participated in several kayaking expeditions in South America through the Chilean sports/professional collective Bestias del Sur Salvaje, founded by friends and collaborators Jens Benohr and Paulo Urrutia. One of their expeditions became the subject of the 2019 documentary Río Sagrado, which Patrick co-produced along with Benohr, directors Nic Ellena and Erick Vigouroux, Urrutia as photographer, and editor and principal photographer Carlos Lastra Barros. The documentary explores the heart of Mapuche territory and introduces key people working to protect the San Pedro watershed from a dam, including several Mapuche leaders. The expedition received funding from National Geographic, Planet Fuel and Outdoor Research. The film premiered on National Geographic's channel in March, 2019 in four countries (Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Peru).
Patrick's career shift away from law and into filmmaking as an advocacy tool began when he attended Telluride Mountainfilm festival in 2016. He decided more needed to be done to address real-world issues like climate change and water conservation. At Telluride he held a meeting of the minds between several key people with ties to Chile. They include actress and friend Juanita Ringeling, festival organizer Henry Lystad, kayaker and friend Ben Stookesberry, conservation philanthropist Don Weeden, and Brazilian filmmakers Markus Bruno and Jessica Nolte.
At Harvard Kennedy School, Patrick worked for the school's Arctic Initiative and advised the National Congress of American Indians on climate issues through the Harvard University Native American Project (HUNAP). As a millennial who lives in two countries and has worked in a variety of fields, Patrick is part of a new crop of environmental advocates trying to break down borders by merging the outdoors, filmmaking, and policy.