A century of waste industry expertise.
SOOI is led by a board with deep experience in environmental technology, international
business, and large-scale industrial operations. We are uniquely positioned to execute this mission.
Founder spotlight
Theodore James Staley
Founder & CEO
Twenty years in waste management. Twelve international patents. Founder of Eco Safe Solutions LLC, where he built and operated two licensed hazardous and toxic waste treatment facilities and developed proprietary processes for converting municipal solid waste into construction products. Save Our Oceans Initiative consolidates two decades of his work in commercial-scale waste recovery into a single mission.
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Mr. Staley has been an independent business man for over 50 years and built and operated two independent Hazardous and Toxic waste treatment operations along with a factory that designed and fabricated machinery that processed Municipal Waste and has 12 international patents in the waste industry.
Mr. Staley began his business career in Los Angeles California in 1969, building a highly successful sales and marketing company. In 1973, Mr. Staley sold his company and started a real-estate development business in Southern California, Arizona and Hawaii. During the following decade, Mr. Staley, in partnership with various development companies and individuals, built over 600 homes, commercial centers, hotels, and thousands of development building lots. His projects ranged from The Manalani Towers in Pearl City Hawaii where he was the initial owner and developer of 2 42-story high-rise residential buildings, to the Hotel Sea Ho Playa and Hotel San Lorenzo, as well as a hotel and subdivision development project in Campeche Mexico consisting of 2 separate 200-room hotels and over 7,000 development lots.
During the 1980s, Mr. Staley worked with Sierra First Equities, a small but highly successful asset-based management firm based in Los Angeles. Following his departure from Sierra, Mr. Staley continued working in the financial sector, specializing in the emerging markets of both Europe and Asia.
Early in 2002, Mr. Staley conceived the idea of converting Municipal Solid Waste into high-quality building products, and the result was the development of Eco Safe Solutions LLC. All of the companies within the Eco Safe Group were dedicated to the design, manufacture and operation of custom-manufactured heavy equipment intended for the treatment and processing of waste, including MSW and the treatment of industrial, commercial, hazardous and toxic, hospital, solid, liquid and sludge wastes. Eco Safe designed, built, owned and operated 2 independently licensed and permitted hazardous and toxic waste treatment facilities. Mr. Staley has 12 international patents in his own name and is co-inventor on 2 more in the waste industry, as well as hundreds of fully proven, tested and verified formulas that effectively treat 98%+ of the majority of various types of waste materials, including hazardous and toxic waste. Processed MSW was converted into viable construction products such as hollow blocks, paving slabs, and road barriers, among others. The organic part of the MSW was converted into energy via an anaerobic digestive system and a proprietary ESS energy enhancement system. Eco Safe spent millions of United States Dollars in developing the equipment and technology for this environmental project.
Mr. Staley developed a deep appreciation and love for the sea at an early age, first through deep-sea fishing with his father, then as a surfer on the Rincon, and later as a diver in the Pacific. Being drawn to the sea has resulted in his living, surrounded by water most of his life, on islands in the South Pacific and Asia, or on lakes and rivers throughout the world.
When Mr. Staley conceived the concept of SAVE OUR OCEANS INITIATIVE, he understood that any entity that would make a significant difference to the massive crisis of plastic oceanic and river waste would need to be highly profitable in order to simply stay in business, not to mention expand and grow the mission; hence, the manufacturing of commercially viable plastic shipping pallets, which will be made from the collected plastic river waste. These plastic shipping pallets will be marketed as SeaPal. Utilizing his expertise in marketing and the waste industry, SOOI is ready to begin harvesting the plastic river waste from the largest polluting rivers of the world, which contributes over 95% of all of the plastic waste destroying our oceans.
Ted believes that if you have the ability to see a problem and the know-how to solve it, you have the responsibility to do so.
Board of Directors
Gerald Whitehead
President & Director
Construction and operations executive whose track record includes managing $150M in annual project activity across healthcare portfolios spanning 12 facilities and 2 million square feet, and authoring Hawaii’s Third Party Review Codes for Planning and Permitting — the regulatory framework still in use today. Twenty-year partnership with Ted Staley.
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Gerald Whitehead is a P&L-responsible operations executive with over four decades of experience across construction, heavy industrial, and military leadership. He has supervised teams of 150+ employees, accounted for over $30M in Western U.S. revenue, and led project portfolios with construction activity averaging $150M annually.
His most enduring contribution is in Hawaii, where he conducted the research and analysis that produced the state’s Third Party Review Codes for Planning and Permitting — a regulatory framework that has remained in continuous use and was recently digitized for electronic filing. He has managed sensitive healthcare client portfolios at scale, including one engagement spanning 12 facilities, 10 locations, and over 2 million square feet of clinical space.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Whitehead served as Vice President and General Manager at BINC Caterpillar, while concurrently holding the role of President and COO of its $10M heavy equipment finance subsidiary. He sat on the Caterpillar National Dealers Committee, increased volume by nearly 10%, and structured the company for the owner’s eventual sale. From 1977 to 1984 he was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Terex (General Motors) in Portland, Oregon, covering five western states with a $30M industrial equipment distribution business; during that tenure he restructured the company, halved inventories and contingent liabilities, increased market share by a third, and personally negotiated an $8.5M operating and inventory line.
Mr. Whitehead’s first professional posting was as a U.S. Army Captain in the Military Police from 1970 to 1976, with brigade- and division-level command responsibility for street patrols, explosive ordnance disposal, and an undercover CID investigative unit. He is a Service-Disabled Veteran, honorably discharged.
He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Oregon State University, with a concentration in marketing and project management. While at OSU he was Captain of the rifle team, a pre-Olympic contender, and President of the Athletic Organization. He has since served as President of the Napa Economic Development Corporation, on the Veteran Employment Council, and on national dealer committees for both Caterpillar and GMC, among many other community boards.
Gerald has been a close friend and partner of Mr. Staley for over 20 years, and is proud to support the SOOI mission.
Robert A. Taft
Director
President and CEO of USA Ties, Inc. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce, where he oversaw new commercial programs in Europe, China, Latin America, and Vietnam. Has worked in over 75 countries and helped nearly 3,000 companies broker international arrangements. Author of Growing Your Business Globally.
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Mr. Robert Taft is President and CEO of USA Ties, Inc., an international business facilitator. As former Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Commerce, Mr. Taft oversaw the development of new U.S. commercial programs in Europe, China, Latin America, Croatia/Bosnia, South Africa, Haiti and Vietnam.
Mr. Taft has worked and lived in over 75 countries and personally has helped nearly 3,000 small and medium sized companies broker business arrangements abroad. He has consulted with government and business leaders from over 20 countries and is the author of Growing Your Business Globally.
Over the years Mr. Taft has served as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Constituency for Africa, and several overseas governments.
As President and CEO of the World Trade Association in Florida, Mr. Taft formerly managed the international efforts of all the Florida World Trade Centers and worked with Enterprise Florida to create the nationally recognized Florida Team Trade Network.
Mr. Taft has worked with Mr. Staley for over 18 years and was on the board of the Eco Safe group of companies for over 15 years.
L. Carl Peterson
Secretary, Treasurer & Director
CFP, MSFS, CRPC. Founder and President of Money Resources, Inc. The first Certified Financial Planner on Guam. Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (3-star protocol). Former World President of Junior Chamber International; charter member of the International Association of Financial Planners. Co-author of three books on wealth management and business strategy.
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L. Carl Peterson is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP) by profession and the President and founder of Money Resources, Inc. While offering advice to all, especially employee benefits, he is particularly known for his work with high income, high net worth individuals and the complex tax, retirement, and estate planning problems they face.
Aside from being the first CFP on Guam, he has a Masters in Financial Services (MSFS). He was also the first CRPC (Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor) on Guam. Mr. Peterson is a charter member of the International Association of Financial Planners (1972); a charter member of The National Network of Estate Planning Advisors; a Principal Broker for real estate; He is also a member of the American Tax Planning Institute which addresses large tax planning issues.
Mr. Peterson served 5 years as a Russian linguist and crypto operator operating from multiple platforms in Asia.
He also has always been very active in the community: he served as the World President of the Junior Chamber International, having traveled to over 100 countries making speeches on self-development and the free market; he has been Chairman of the Guam Chamber of Commerce twice; Chairman of the Armed Forces Committee three times; as Chairman of the Guam Telephone Authority, he oversaw the drafting of the legislation, the bidding, and the privatization of that utility; he is a past Director of Project Concern International, a primary health care delivery organization in parts of the world where there is no health care at all; he served 22 years on the Guam Planning/Land Use Commission; he was the creator of the Jaycees International Foundation, which now has millions of dollars in it; served with distinction on many boards/commissions, in active and advisory capacities; member of Rotary International for 52 years and a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts.
Through written articles, speeches, and workshops, he is a very strong advocate for entrepreneurs and the free market both globally and domestically – his latest commitment was giving lectures on the free market at Universities in China.
Carl is especially known for his skills as a premier educator of executives and employees on tax reduction and using money as a tool for financial independence.
Carl was inducted as the Laureate to the Guam Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame 5-2-15. He was selected as the Guam Business 1996 Executive of the Year, by a group of his peers. He was also chosen as Guam’s Outstanding Young Person of the Year in 1979.
He is a co-author of three comprehensive books: Wealth Enhancement and Preservation, Ways and Means and an extensive book on business, called Strictly Business. He is also the author of innumerable articles for various business magazines, newspapers and broadcast media.
In July of 2011, Mr. Peterson was sworn in as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CASA), a 3-star protocol, for Guam. Not only does he attend literally every function of the various Army components, his mandate is to comment on what the concerns and needs are of those components he oversees: the U.S. Army, Reserve, and Guard activities on Guam and Micronesia.
He is a principal with GUASA (Guam-U.S.-Asia Security Alliance). GUASA hosted The Asian Security Roundtable on Guam September 5-6th 2013, where some of the country’s top Asian security experts met to discuss and develop the U.S. security posture and commitments to Asia. A second Roundtable, involving security experts from 7 Asian countries and the U.S., was held on Guam October 15-17, 2014, and a 3rd was held in Congress in 2015 with Senator McCain as the primary keynote. A 4th was planned in Tokyo with key security experts from impacted countries in Asia but will now be held in the 2nd Island Chain (Saipan) in late 2018.
Carl has known Mr. Staley for over 18 years and visited the Eco Safe group of companies and Mr. Staley a number of times. He has intimate knowledge of the Eco Safe Group of companies and Mr. Staley.
Paul J. Fisher
Director, Environmental & Electrical Specialist
Electrical engineer with deep experience in environmental technology, eco-product import/export, and high-level systems installation — including Honeywell and Chubb projects across the Australian government and commercial sector. Early shareholder in Eco Safe Solutions; introducing SOOI to New Zealand and Australia.
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Mr. Paul Fisher is an electrical engineer with a passion for environmental improvement. Seeing the global need for the advanced eco-friendly technologies being developed by Ted Staley and the company, he was an early shareholder in Eco Safe Solutions.
With a desire to see our urgently needed systems introduced worldwide and his hands-on experience with electrical systems and installation, he is a welcome addition as a director, and an asset to the board and the company as a valued engineering consultant.
In Sydney during the ’80s and ’90s, Mr. Fisher was the manager with responsibility for project oversight for Honeywell and Chubb, where he served in the development of high-level electrical installation security systems throughout the Australian government, as well as commercial situations from early construction to final commissioning. In that time period, he was also involved in many aspects of live sound reinforcement before later becoming a private security contractor specializing in the installation of CCTV and other electronics for public spaces, shopping centers and the retail sector.
He returned to New Zealand and has specialized in import/export of eco-products. Moving from Christchurch after the 2020 earthquakes, he now lives in Auckland, NZ and is actively working to introduce the SAVE OUR OCEANS INITIATIVE to New Zealand and Australia.
He came to the ESS board with a wealth of business experience and a high level of practical technical understanding of electronics, electrical engineering and systems installation. He has been an advisor and ardent supporter on many levels to the company’s founder, Ted Staley for the past 20 years.
Mr. Fisher has an intimate understanding of ESS systems and the technologies involved, as well as SOOI where he is a welcome addition to its board.
Mr. Fisher has worked with Mr. Staley and was on the board of Eco Safe Solutions group of companies for over 15 years.
Key employees
Marco Pearman Parish, Esq.
President, SOOI China
China operations leader. Through Corporation China Investment Group (CCIG) — 48+ Chinese offices, partnership with Dacheng Law Firm (Dentons’ preferred China partner) — and 20+ years navigating company formation, banking, and government relations, Marco brings exactly the on-the-ground expertise SOOI needs to operate at the mouth of the Yangtze.
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Marco Pearman Parish serves as CEO of Corporation China and Shareholder & Co-Founder of Yingke Matrix, with over 20 years of experience guiding international ventures through China’s investment landscape.
Through Corporation China Investment Group (CCIG) — the largest Asia-Pacific consulting firm — Marco’s network spans 48+ offices across China and 180+ international offices. CCIG’s partnership with Dacheng Law Firm, Dentons’ preferred China partner, provides expert legal and regulatory guidance for foreign investors.
CCIG’s comprehensive service suite includes company establishment, brand licensing, offshore banking, back-office support, HR services, legal services, and investment guidance — connecting clients with international professionals, Chinese managers, and key government officials.
As President of Save Our Oceans Initiative, China, Marco leads SOOI’s on-the-ground operations and government relations in the country where the initiative’s first harvesting fleet will deploy.
Massimo Giovannelli
Pallet Production General Manager, China
Italian operations executive with two decades standing up Chinese manufacturing plants for global parent companies — Lafert (electric motors), Maingroup (injection molding), Magna (LED), Giochi Preziosi (toys). Will lead SOOI’s pallet production in China pending funding. Fluent in Italian, English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
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Massimo Giovannelli is an Italian operations and general management executive with two decades of experience standing up Chinese manufacturing operations for European parent companies. He will lead SOOI’s pallet production in China, joining the team pending funding.
Currently CEO of Suzhou M.S.L. Business Consulting (Suzhou, China), Massimo provides industrial business development planning, market analysis, and Blue Ocean Strategy guidance to industrial clients.
From 2018 to 2020, he served as Operation Manager at Montanari Drive Technology (Pinghu) — elevator traction machines — with full responsibility for setting up and running operations, hiring, logistics, industrial engineering, sourcing, quality, and technical office.
From 2011 to 2018, Massimo was General Manager at Lafert (Suzhou), an electric motor and servomotor manufacturer, responsible for establishing the new China operation: P&L, sales, marketing, R&D, hiring, logistics, industrial engineering, sourcing, finance, and administration.
Earlier roles include LED Lighting Division Manager at Magna Technology (Shenzhen, 2010–2011), Production Manager at Taly Plastic Extrusion (Zhongshan, 2008–2009, leader in cellulose acetate stripes for optical frames, €10M China revenue), Operation and Industrial Manager at Maingroup Asia (Xiamen, 2005–2007, leader in injection shoe-making machines, €45M revenue), and Technologist (R&D and Quality) Manager at Giochi Preziosi (Italy/Hong Kong, 1999–2002, €500M toys and products group).
Massimo authored the 2000 paper TAME: Toys Application of Microelectronics with Mixed Code ASIC. He is fluent in Italian and English, with advanced spoken Mandarin and Cantonese.
Gilbert N. Solomon
Project Manager, Philippines
Licensed Civil Engineer. Will oversee SOOI’s shredder manufacturing in the Philippines, continuing a 17-year working relationship with Mr. Staley dating back to the Eco Safe Group board.
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Gilbert N. Solomon is a professional project manager and licensed Civil Engineer, expert in personnel staffing, materials acquisition, and supervising manufacturing and construction operations. He is proficient in all CAD operating systems.
Mr. Solomon was an employee and director of the Eco Safe Group for over 17 years, working directly with Ted Staley. He continues that partnership at SOOI, where he will oversee shredder manufacturing operations in the Philippines — the critical link between harvested river plastic and finished SeaPal pallets.
Board of advisors
William (Bill) Danshin
Water & Sustainability Advisor
Decades of expertise across water purification, wastewater treatment, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture — directly adjacent to SOOI’s environmental mission. Holds the license to Deferum, a proprietary water filtration technology, and has turned bankrupt operations into $1M+ monthly revenue businesses.
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Bill Danshin is President of Pure Water Corporation, Canada, with decades of experience across water purification, wastewater treatment, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and solid waste reuse/recycle technologies — all directly relevant to SOOI’s mission.
His stated objective at Pure Water Corporation: “Add-value to revenues and profits in the Water Purification, Wastewater Treatment, Renewable Energy, Agriculture, Resources, Sustainable Development, and related Infrastructure Business Sectors.”
Career highlights include converting a bankrupt company to monthly revenue exceeding $1M with significant net profit in 18 months; reducing operating cost and inventory in a water valve manufacturing plant while significantly increasing production capacity and profits; organizing the construction of the first multi-level load-bearing steel-stud frame, composite joist, and concrete floor building in Western Canada; and securing license and manufacturing know-how for a unique water filtration technology marketed as Deferum.
Pure Water Corporation has manufactured and delivered Deferum water filters since 1993, with the essence of business being low-cost pure water with clean energy, integrated with value-added agriculture. Bill also owns and operates Steel-Tech Building Systems (Delta, BC, 2006–present), where he developed a sustainable Agri-Village concept combining pre-packaged homes with greenhouse and vertical farming technologies, water/wastewater treatment, and renewable energy.
Earlier roles include Sales Manager at Steeler Inc. (Surrey, BC) marketing steel stud framing for commercial and residential construction across BC and Alberta; Sales and Operations Manager at Continental Explosives Ltd. (Richmond, BC) covering 12 branch operations in British Columbia, with technical sales of explosives and detonation systems to mining, construction, and logging clients (Prince Rupert Port Terminal, Nanaimo Duke Point, Grand Duke Mine, Westmin Resources); and independent civil construction contractor specializing in mining, logging, road building, and site service projects.
Education: Computer Applications (Academy of Learning, Nanaimo), Wastewater Treatment and Collection (BC Water and Wastewater Association, Vancouver), and Operations Management Technology (BC Institute of Technology, Burnaby). Languages: English and Russian.
Dr. Christopher M. Silverio, PhD
Environmental Advisor
Environmental scientist with patents in environmental mitigation and energy source technologies. Former Chief Science Research Specialist at the Philippines government’s Industrial Technology Development Institute, where he continues to advise on environmental policy. 15+ years on the Eco Safe Solutions board.
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Dr. Christopher M. Silverio is an environmental scientist with deep expertise in monitoring, treatment, and handling of wastewater, waste solids, toxic and hazardous wastes, biogas, and air pollution.
Dr. Silverio previously served as Chief Science Research Specialist in the Environmental Division of the Industrial Technology Development Institute — a multidisciplinary R&D institute of the Philippines government’s Department of Science and Technology. His work has produced multiple patents in environmental mitigation and energy source technologies, and he continues to actively advise the Philippines government on environmental policy.
Academic background: double B.S. in Pre-Medicine and Biological Science (University of the East), M.S. in Biology (University of Santo Tomas), M.S. in Biotechnology (University of New South Wales), Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (University of the Philippines), with a post-doctoral fellowship at the Hokkaido National Industrial Research Institute.
Dr. Silverio has known Mr. Staley for nearly 20 years and served on the board of the Eco Safe Solutions group of companies for over 15 years. His full 39-page resume is available upon request.
Sisy M. Orobitg
Government and Social Advisor
Compliance and operations executive with 15 years across federal contracting (FEMA, HHS, ORR, SSA) and global telecom (INMARSAT LATAM). Brings the quality-assurance and government-interface discipline SOOI’s regulated operations will require. Trilingual: English, Spanish, Portuguese.
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Sisy M. Orobitg is a compliance and operations executive with 15 years of generalist expertise spanning federal contracting, global telecommunications, and project management. Her work emphasizes compliance and quality-assurance project management in environments with diverse employee pools and complex regulatory requirements.
Current role: Quality Assurance & Compliance Supervisor / EOC Manager Interim at Deployed Services LLC (North Carolina), where she oversees Compliance Assurance Specialists ensuring quality direct care services, conducts scheduled and random audits, develops Performance Work Statements, and maintains the program’s Risk Register under ORR and DS policies.
Prior roles include Reunification Case Manager and Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan Project Management Lead at Deployed Services (2022–2023), where she led a 27–34 member weekly QASP workgroup and redrafted Standard Operating Procedures with stakeholder input; DISC Trainer / Employment Specialist for the State of Florida Vocational Rehabilitation program (2020–2022); Bilingual Disaster Response Case Manager with BCFS under FEMA, HHS, and ORR programs (2018–2021); Bilingual Reunification Specialist at Caliburn International / CHSI Homestead Influx Shelter (2018–2019); and PRN Lead Case Manager on an SSA project at ISN Corp (2017–2018).
From 2013 to 2014, Sisy served as Executive Team Regional Inside Sales Coordinator for LATAM at INMARSAT, the London-based global telecommunications firm, managing 15–30 accounts across Latin America with $250M in business opportunities, including land equipment, fleet broadband, and satellite services to LATAM and MENA governments.
Education: M.B.A. in Corporate Business Administration and B.A. in International Relations, both from Florida International University. Certifications include the Google Project Management Professional Certificate (Coursera, October 2023). She holds Level 2 Mild Public Trust Clearance.
Languages: fluent English and Spanish, conversational Portuguese.