Captain Jim "Homer" Holm

Founder​
Captain Jim Holm has spent over 45 years on the water, serving aboard everything from high-speed rescue vessels to square-rigged sailing ships. His career includes transatlantic and transpacific crossings, shark research with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and whale rescue efforts with the West Coast Large Whale Disentanglement Network. Captain Holm also developed and led award-winning marine education programs for organizations like O’Neill International and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, reaching over 50,000 youth and 5,000 adults.

In 2008, during a delivery through the Panama Canal, he was struck by the scale of plastic pollution at sea. Upon returning home, he co-founded The Clean Oceans Project, which evolved into Clean Oceans International in 2015—dedicated to reducing plastic pollution through research, innovation, and direct action.

Though now retired from active involvement with COI, Captain Holm remains a passionate advocate for ocean conservation and continues to support efforts to protect marine environments.