Our Executive Board

Shelby Thomas M.S., CEO & Director of Research

Specializes in marine conservation and restoration, she completed her masters in Marine Ecology and is currently completing her PhD in Marine Biology with the University of Florida. She is an environmentalist and marine conservation advocate who hopes to inspire others to protect our enviroments. She has worked  with various restoration projects including coral, seagrass, oyster, sea-urchin, and scallop restoration. She is passionate about preserving our natural ecosystems and creating a foundation for their appreciation. She now has worked with over 10 different restoration projects and continues to conduct research in this field. She was the head laboratory technician for AMEC Foster Wheeler in Gainesville, overseeing and managing 7 different restoration projects. She was a Florida Georgia louis Stokes Alliance NSF, McNair, Challenge 2050, MINRC, and Aylesworth Scholar. Through her research and outreach, she plans to assist in conserving, restoring, and better managing our ecosystems. She would like to make a lasting impact, conserving our environments while also improving peoples lives around the world.

Announcing NEW BOARD MEMBERS Soon!

Advisory Board

Chris o’hare, reef building partner

CHRISTOPHER XAVIER O'HARE is an American artist and architectural sculptor with works exhibited throughout the United States and on projects from Okinawa Japan to Abu Dhabi UAE. His art studies started in New York and continued throughout Europe. Originally trained as a Architect/Engineer and Landscape Architect, O'Hare switched careers after years of designing commercial and private gardens to devote his full attention to architectural art. He founded Pineapple Grove Designs in Delray Beach Florida in 1988 and offered his work to architects and clients throughout the world. O'Hare's collection of bas-relief and three dimensional sculptures are inspired by plant, animal, geometric and arabesque imagery with references to traditional, historic and contemporary themes. O'Hare's body of work includes commissions by most branches of the Federal Government, State, Municipal and Institutional clients.

O'Hare's concern for environmental issues led him to a parallel career in bio-marine enhancement. He has several U.S. Patents for his inventions in this field and he currently builds artificial reef modules known as REEF CELLS. O'Hare has provided these without profit to foundations and government agencies and has multiple deployments throughout South Florida. Most recently O'Hare has made the resources of his art studio, known as CXOART, available to REEF CELLS in a joint venture with Miami Body Casting for the purpose of building an Art Reef in the near shore waters of Fort Lauderdale Florida. The reef, to be known as 1000 Mermaids Reef will be funded by contributions from people who love the ocean and want to help the environment by participating in the creation of a very bio-productive artificial reef that will also be fun to visit.

"The 1000 Mermaids Reef project has given me an opportunity to realize my objectives as an artist while pursuing my love of creating artificial reefs. Art strengthens the bond between people. Reef art strengthens our bond with the environment. The 1000 Mermaids Reef will bring attention to the importance of coral reefs, provide much needed habitat for marine life and be a fun place for people to visit and connect with the natural environment." - Christopher Xavier O'Hare

Dr. Nicolas Funicelli

Dr. Nicholas A. Funicelli has been a professional biologist for over 50 years.  He retired after 30 years with the federal government where he held positions with the Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Biological Service and U.S. Geological Service.  Nick has been a biologist, a manager, a researcher, and an administrator. He has directed several masters theses as well as doctorial dissertations.

He has supervised researchers at the federal manatee laboratory in Gainesville, the ecology laboratory on St. John’s Virgin Islands, and Fish Laboratory in Gainesville.  He has directed over 10 million dollars of research grants and contracts.  He has numerous scientific publications and is a Researcher Emeritus at the Federal Center for Aquatic and Wetlands Ecosystems Research in Gainesville.  He has held positions at four Universities and currently teaches a class on Marine Protected Areas at the University of Florida.

Stephen Rodan

Stephen Rodan (Stave) is a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer and MIT graduate, Inventor of CHARM (Coral Husbandry Automated Raceway Machine), President of Beyond Coral Foundation, internationally recognized Burning Man Artist, and Advisor to 1000 Mermaids and the Ocean Rescue Alliance (ORA).

At NASA, Stave worked as an engineer on the Sentinel-6 earth-based orbiting satellite that measures climate change and rising ocean height. He also worked on hyperspectral imagers for coral reef research and the Mars Rover project.

At MIT, Stave studied mechanical engineering and nuclear physics. He worked in the MIT Media Lab, helped teach classes on engineering, innovation, design and underwater robotics, was President of the MIT Undergraduate Energy Club, and created the first-ever MIT Energy Hackathon— an event that is now replicated at multiple universities worldwide.

In February of 2019, Stave founded a US not-for-profit called Beyond Coral Foundation which now operates internationally in Mexico and Australia. Beyond Coral's mission is to use art, commerce, and technology to develop coral restoration farms, laboratories, educational programs, and ecotourism experiences.

In January of 2020, Stave invented CHARM, a farming machine for cultivating coral reef specimens at economies of scale. The patent-pending invention and method is an attachment to land-based, ex-situ aquarium rearing environments, commonly known as a coral nursery. The intention of the robot is to help automate and accelerate processes necessary for restoring coral reefs worldwide.