|
Captain Jim “Homer” Holm
Founder and Executive Director
[email protected] In a 45-year career, Captain Holm has served on all manner of sail and power craft including high speed rescue craft and slow steady tugboats, grand prix sail racers and square-rigged training vessels. He has crossed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, worked on white shark research for Monterey Bay Aquarium and water response teams for the West Coast Large Whale Disentanglement Network. On a delivery through the Panama Canal in 2008, Captain Holm witnessed alarmingly extensive oceanic plastic pollution, and upon return home he helped found The Clean Oceans Project (TCOP). TCOP morphed into Clean Oceans International (COI) in 2015, with a mission to reduce plastic pollution through Research, Innovation and Direct Action. This journey has taken him and COI staff on international opportunities to study and teach about the plastic pollution problem. Captain Holm’s management experience includes developing and operating acclaimed non-profit marine education programs for clients including O’Neill International and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, serving over 50,000 kids and 5,000 adults over fourteen years. He has also been a successful fundraiser for people with Autism. As Co-founder and Executive Director, Captain Holm is tasked with identifying and developing the technologies that will play a key role in removing destructive plastic marine debris from the world’s oceans. Captain Holm feels extremely fortunate to reside on the beautiful central coast of California where an abundance of marine education resources and an awareness of environmental issues has provided him the perfect platform to share his knowledge and passion for the health of the sea. |
|
David SchwartzEducation Director
[email protected] David Schwartz is the former Department Chair of Geology, Oceanography and Environmental Science at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California. After 35 years, David retired from Cabrillo College in June 2021. David obtained a B.S. Degree in Geology and Mineralogy from The Ohio State University in the spring of 1979. For the following 10 months, he worked as a Water Quality Technician for the Environmental Protection Agency in Columbus Ohio. David earned an M.S. degree in Marine Geology in 1983 from San Jose State University and Moss Landing Marine Labs. His emphasis was estuarine evolution and coastal systems and his research focused on the geologic history of the wetland Elkhorn Slough in central Monterey Bay. After graduate school, David taught at Hartnell College in Salinas and San Jose State University for the next 3 years. Professor Schwartz found a home at Cabrillo College in 1986 and successfully taught generations of Santa Cruz area residents about earth, marine, and environmental science and about putting in the hard work success requires. David’s mother was born and raised in Asbury Park NJ and his love of the oceans began in the 1960s and matured for over 50 years during dozens of summers playing with family in the Atlantic Ocean. In the 1970’s David attended an SOS protest raising awareness about illegal hospital waste dumping, and contaminated needles washing ashore from Atlantic City to NY, opening his eyes to the political aspect of environmentalism. His ongoing passion is to clean up the shoreline environment and raise awareness of global marine plastic debris. He has hosted over 45 coastal cleanups in the span of 24 years and is proud to be an active member of Clean Oceans International since 2011. |
|
Amelia Labbe
Managing Director
amelia@cointl.org Amelia first experienced the power of the ocean at the age of 25, during an environmental study abroad program in Belize. It was love at first sight and she became captivated by the boundless expanse and its myriad inhabitants. Two years later, an internship in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico focused on the study of sea turtles deepened her commitment to ocean conservation. Following a hiatus dedicated to raising her two children, Amelia returned to academia with renewed purpose, earning a Master of Science in Applied Marine Science. It was during her master's studies that she discovered the alarming extent of plastic pollution—a revelation that would steer her path towards environmental advocacy. While in grad school, Amelia co-developed a low-cost protocol for detecting microplastics in plankton samples, empowering NOAA citizen scientists. This experience highlighted the importance of community engagement in scientific research. Upon completing her graduate degree, Amelia taught an Oceanography lab at Cabrillo College for three years, where she enlightened students about the intricate dynamics of the world's oceans and the critical issue of plastic pollution. In the spring of 2022, Amelia joined the COI team, driven by a dual mission: to deepen her understanding of plastic pollution and to disseminate this knowledge widely, fostering environmental stewardship among the broader community. |
|
Tobie Louw
Development Director
[email protected] Tobie Louw was born in Paarl, South Africa where he was raised on a farm and taught to respect nature and all things earth and water-related. His respect for nature was instilled during hikes in the mountains or while spending time on the ocean when his dad said: “You can take pictures but only leave your footprints behind when enjoying nature!” He lives by and promotes the motto “Be The Change” in our world by showing respect for our planet and sharing these values with his family. His wife Marly and two sons, Eben (10) and Charlie (7) are also heavily involved in sustainability and educating others to find solutions to keep our planet healthy, clean, and live by the motto: #Reduce #Reuse #Refuse #Recycle! With a Master’s degree in International Business Economics and Transportation Logistics from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, Tobie has gained international business and computer technology experience at global corporations like Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, BMC, Alibaba and Google Cloud, where he was involved in sustainability and eco-friendly efforts. Tobie joined Clean Oceans International (COI) in 2018 as Board Member to make a difference in human behavior, believing that plastics trash represents a threat to our oceans and our planet. He is working diligently to find solutions and provide continued education to make our planet healthier and to preserve it for future generations. In his new role as Director of Development, he will continue to grow global awareness and funding to advance our quest at COI to perfect PPWC (Portable Plastic Waist Conversion) by keeping plastic waist out of our natural environment and creating fuel that is carbon-neutral and economically efficient around the Globe! |
|
Claudia RochaInternational Relations Director
[email protected] Claudia was raised on the beaches around Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, with one foot in the water. She began sailing as a child and became a world class competitive bodyboarder as a young adult in California, Hawaii, and Indonesia. Running her own clothing import business gave her a taste for international travel and her current position as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines affords her the option to continue extensive travel at minimal cost. Claudia has extended her sailing resume in recent years with crossings of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and a couple seasons chartering her own yacht in the Caribbean Sea. She has been actively involved with COI since 2013 making expeditions to Alaska, Brazil, Cuba, Hawaii, and India as an ambassador. Claudia organized the beach cleanup program in Niteroi, Brazil in 2015, which has since grown from fifteen people to hundreds of participants including local school programs. |
|
Patricia Lieberg-ClarkEnvironmental Plastic Assessment Program Coordinator
[email protected] Patti grew up in Huntington Beach, California, and fell in love with the ocean at an early age. She attended Orange Coast College, where she assisted with shipboard marine mammal photo-ID research off the coast of southern California and the Pacific Northwest. Patti transferred to UC Santa Cruz and earned a Bachelor’s degree with a senior thesis on marine mammal pollution ecology. In addition, she was the Research Coordinator for the NMFS (NOAA) Marine Mammal Stranding Network at UCSC's Long Marine Lab for six years after completing her degree. Patti crewed in two blue water sailing voyages; one from Santa Barbara to Mexico's Gulf of California, and one from west to east through the Panama Canal and exploration of the San Blas Islands. She was shocked to observe incredible amounts of plastic debris in the remote regions she visited. Patti became involved with COI in 2010 while working for Cabrillo College Oceanography, Geology, and Environmental Science Department, where she helped start an educational collaboration and internship program. She has worked for COI as Expedition Coordinator and has been serving on the Board of Directors since January 2018. In 2021, Patti earned a MAS degree in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, where she studied coastal blue carbon ecosystems and worked as a research assistant for the Scripps-Rady Plastic Pollution Challenge. She has returned to Santa Cruz, where she enjoys hiking, kayaking, sailing, wildlife biology, geology, and coffee. |
|
Kelly Duim
Project Manager Brazil
[email protected] Kelly is a born and raised Brazilian Nature lover from Niterói. She started her career marketing for companies like “Cantão” and “Redley”. Kelly has been a COI volunteer since 2015 and our COI Brazil representative since 2016. She organizes local beach cleanup events bringing awareness to schools and many other locations in Niterói area. Kelly enjoys hiking and sailing or walking along beautiful Niterói beaches with a bag over her shoulder picking up trash. She is always ready to take care of mother “Terra” (Earth). We are very proud to have Kelly running Team COI in Brazil. |
|
Xu Nguyen
IT Administrator
Xu has over 10 years of experience in Information Technology. Xu is also an artist that specializes in sacred geometry, copper patina and lettering. He has a love for the ocean and mother nature as a whole. He loves traveling and has deep roots on the islands of Hawaii. In his spare time, he likes to take his dog to the beach, play guitar, mountain bike, paint, and go to concerts. |