Blue Ocean Warriors Board of Directors

Fawn is a marine conservationist, social entrepreneur, environmental activist specializing in marine debris prevention and removal. Fawn graduated with high honors from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a BA in Psychology. Two years later, she earned an MBA in Nonprofit Management, an Entrepreneurship Certificate, and an award for Outstanding Community Service from Chaminade University.

In June 2020, Fawn graduated from Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s MAS Marine Biodiversity & Conservation program. Her capstone research explored how community-based marine debris cleanups could be a source of therapeutic recreation for active-duty military personnel and military veterans.

Fawn grew up wanting to be a Marine Biologist. When she began seeing marine debris’ global impact, she felt compelled to step up and do something about the plastic epidemic plaguing our oceans. Compelled to step up and do something about the marine debris epidemic plaguing our oceans, she took action. She co-founded 808 Cleanups and began removing marine debris from her favorite beaches and reefs. But upon realizing the scope of marine debris’ impact in Hawaiʻi, Fawn knew she had to do more than just reactive cleanups.

Through co-leading NOAA’s Marine Debris Action Plan goals, Fawn strategized proactive solutions to decrease marine debris’ impact in Hawaiʻi with government officials, scientists, industry leaders, and nonprofit organizations. She built and managed the Hawaiʻi Environmental Cleanup Coalition, which coordinated marine debris cleanup efforts between Hawaiʻi’s eleven largest environmental nonprofit organizations to support the Polynesian Voyaging Society canoe Hōkūleʻa’s worldwide voyage and its unique collective impact initiative, the Promise to Pae‘Āina. Fawn produced an education campaign teaching children and their parents about marine debris, “trash blindness,” and litter degradation through the children’s menu at Zippy’s Restaurants. She has helped cities around the world create cleanup campaigns that bridged the gap between municipalities and their residents, lead trainings, and troubleshooted customer issues with the Litterati platform. Fawn currently works for Parley for the Oceans as their Operations and Systems Manager.

Fawn strives to be a liaison between government, industry, nonprofit organizations, entrepreneurs, and communities to affect real change to prevent marine plastic pollution. She wants to serve her community as a strategic thinker, entrepreneur, and catalyst for innovation and creativity in the marine debris field. Her life goal’s is to help as many members of our military community and marine life as possible.

Mary is an environmentalist, humanitarian, and owner of Ocean Soul Photography LLC specializing in fine art portraiture for couples, pets, and families. Mary works for the American Red Cross’ Pacific Islands Region as their Senior Volunteer Recruitment Specialist.

Originally from Washington State, she graduated from Central Washington University with a BS in interdisciplinary studies, social sciences, and a psychology minor. She’s lived in Hawaiʻi for almost ten years. In her time on the island, she’s volunteered with several local non-profits cleaning beaches and reefs, recruiting volunteers, and helping to manage volunteer workforces.

Having witnessed first-hand what our service members go though as a family member and friend – from familial issues to PTSD and suicide – she has a passion for helping our military members find balance and build a community of support.

Dan Miller is the Founder, Editor in Chief, and President of Operation Freedom Recovery. Dan is a visionary and entrepreneur at heart. His own struggles with addiction and substance use disorders coupled with suicidal ideations led to hospitalization in December of 2019. While he was in treatment, Dan looked at the 4’x10’ cork board in the hallway of the treatment ward and read all the fliers of organizations whose purpose was to help veterans in need. Dan came to the realization he was not alone and there were resources in the community to overcome his personal challenges. After his discharge, Dan found a sponsor that same day in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and has found hope in recovery ever since.

In the fall of 2022, Dan began his MBA at Idaho State University where he took a marketing course in his first semester detailing the concepts of social media marketing and podcasting. Dan describes it as,”Suddenly, the lightbulb lit up and I began thinking about all the possibilities. I knew I wanted to make an attempt but the idea also made me feel really uncomfortable.” Dan decided to step outside his comfort zone, develop affiliations with KISU.org and NPR, and published the first episode in May 2022. He is grateful to share the message of strength and hope to make a positive impact in his Veteran community.

Joy first discovered her passion towards the human impact on Hawaiʻi’s coastlines in 2015 during a team-building beach cleanup event. For almost 3 years following, she spearheaded monthly cleanups at Kahuku Beach with 808 Cleanups and began community volunteer events for her employer, Hawaiian Telcom, with other local organizations like Kokua Foundation/Plastic Free Hawaiʻi. In 2019, Hawaiian Telcom created an employee-run interest group called Mālama ‘Āina, empowering employees to share and volunteer towards community efforts for sustainability, conservation, and environmentalism. Joy, in addition to her work as a Business Analyst and Project Manager, leads this group today with assistance from the newly formed Sustainability initiative from Hawaiian Telcom’s parent company, Altafiber.

Gary was born in London, England and spent most of his childhood growing up on US Navy bases. He enlisted in the US Navy in October 1979. While enlisted, he served in Patrol Squadron Forty-Nine (VP-49), USS SARATOGA (CV-60), and at NAS Bermuda. Gary was selected as the NAS Bermuda and then the COMPATWINGSLANT Sailor of the Year for CY 1988. In December 1989, he was one of two hundred Sailors selected as a candidate in the Navy’s Enlisted Commissioning Program. In 1991, Gary graduated from the University of South Carolina, he is a 2004 Graduate of Joint Services Command and Staff College in Shrivenham, England, and a 2011 graduate of the US Joint Forces Staff College.

Capt. Leigh has been awarded the Legion of Merit Medal (Three Gold Stars), Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with Three Gold Stars), the Joint Services Commendation Medal (with Oak Leaf), the Navy Commendation Medal (with four Gold Stars), the Navy Achievement Medal (with Three Gold Stars) and numerous campaign and unit awards. He is currently Commodore of Naval Beach Group ONE.

His Sea tours include Combat Information Center Officer (CICO) and Main Propulsion Assistant (MPA) on USS ARTHUR W RADFORD (DD-968), Weapons Officer, and Combat Systems Officer on USS CARNEY (DDG-64), Executive Officer on USS VICKSBURG (CG-69), Commanding Officer of Riverine Squadron One where he completed a combat deployment to Al Anbar Province, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and as Commodore of Coastal Riverine Group ONE.

His Shore tours include Instructor Duty at Surface Warfare Officer School Command in Newport, Rhode Island, Afloat Training Group, Mayport, Florida as the Combat Systems Director (N6), and on the Naval Staff, OPNAV DEEP BLUE in Washington, DC, Pakistan Desk Branch Head Pakistan-Afghanistan Coordination Cell on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and again on the Naval Staff as Ship Maintenance Branch Head, OPNAV N96, Director of Character Development and Training at the United States Naval Academy, and as Assistant Chief of Staff G9, Marine Corps Forces Pacific.

In Fall 2022, Gary retired and was selected to join Amazon Pathways Program in Dallas, Texas.

Ray is a passionate and dedicated leader who is committed to helping others and changing the climate around plastic pollution. Originally from Chino, California he came to Hawaiʻi in 2013 on Military orders. After spending 8 years as an active-duty Combat Engineer, and experiencing more of the world, he resigned in 2017 to make Hawaiʻi his home. Realizing the negative impacts we were having on our world, and reconnecting with the land, he has dedicated his life to helping right the wrongs that have been done and to bring a larger awareness to local and global issues that are still impacting us. 

Ray is also the founder and CEO of Seed.World (SEED). SEED is dedicated to educating others on micro-plastic pollution and the impact it is having on our world. Ray engineered a Buoyancy Separation device that separates shoreline marine debris from beach sand through buoyancy. He then further discovered and created a process to separate the natural and synthetic buoyant debris that is captured by his device. Through this process a smaller size assessment can be done to analyze marine debris accumulation for microplastic samples smaller than 63 microns.

Ray is former Chair for the Surfrider Foundation Oʻahu Chapter and a research collaborator at the Center for Marine Debris Research (CMDR). At CMDR, he is using the methods and inventions he’s developed to analyze the accumulation of Micro-plastic pollution on Oʻahu’s shores. Being very active within his local community, Ray has given several educational lectures, demonstrations and public testimonies around plastic pollution and the impact our waste is causing.