Board of Directors: United States of America and Jamaica

The Board of Directors in the State of Hawai’i, United States (U.S.) was formed by the original co-founders of Surfing Medicine International non-profit (no owners or shareholders exist), Dr. Summer Austin Ragosta, Guy Ragosta, and Steve Bogle after verbal consultation with our team members and during the filing of our Articles of Incorporation. The United States Internal Revenue Service recognized Surfing Medicine International as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization on June 25, 2007, with our official charity address registered with the State of Hawai’i located in Waialua.

Dr. Summer Austin Ragosta was selected to the U.S. Board for her connection and efforts with Jamaican and Ghanaian traditional healers as an Ethnobotanist, her PhD in Botany from the University of Hawai`i, her service in Jamaica as a Peace Corps Volunteer, her experience as a co-editor of the book “Common Medicinal Plants of Portland, Jamaica”, and in leading peer reviewed medicinal plant cancer research in Africa. Dr. Summer Ragosta is now an Assistant Professor of Botany at Maine College of Art and a Medicinal Plants Course Facilitator at Cornell University. 

Guy Ragosta was selected to the U.S. Board for his experience working on watershed monitoring and restoration, environmental education, nutrient, fecal bacteria (Enterococci and Escherichia coli) and pathogenic (E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella) surface water quality research and management of marine and fresh water ecosystems from 1999-2014 in the Caribbean (Hispaniola) and Pacific (Micronesia) as a Peace Corps Volunteer; in the Hawaiian Islands of Kaua’i and O’ahu with University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Ko’olau Mountains Watershed Partnership, Hawai’i State Department of Health, and Pikoi Ke Kaula Kualena; in Florida with the MacArthur Agro-Ecology Research Center; and at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Western Institute for Food Safety and Security. Guy aims to have SMI research long-term watershed epidemiology issues, specifically how surface water quality and land use associate to human health issues (e.g., illness incidence rates) in countries we work where communities suffer from the effects of extreme pollution.

Steve Bogle was selected to the U.S. Board for his inspiration to find natural treatments to help treat his son, pro-surfer Jason Nalu Bogle’s cancer, and for his knowledge and pioneering of surfing big waves in Hawai`i in the 1970’s.

The other U.S. Board of Directors include Chad Durkin, Lanie DuPont Jilg, Michael McMahan, Marcello Parisi, and Jay Oku. U.S. Board members were selected from the wider community and voted on by the original founders of Surfing Medicine International (Dr. S. Ragosta, S. Bogle, and G. Ragosta). Board members reflect interests and experiences from a wide range of American culture, demographics, and expertise.

Chad Durkin was selected to the U.S. Board for his involvement in the community, culture, and environment of Hawai`i and his commitment to improving water quality in coastal areas world wide through a cooperative ecological approach. Chad is currently the director of The Green Machine, an O’ahu based constructed wetland project. He also works with a local non-profit company the Malama `aina Foundation, which means “to care for the land” training teachers of public Charter schools to integrate science in their project based curriculum activities. He has written grants in collaboration with the Hawaii Nature Center, the State of Hawaii, the US EPA, USDA, and the US Department of Education for bioremediation systems designed to use locally valuable plants to filter out contaminants from sewage effluent, and reclaim the water to an R2 status that can be used for agricultural purposes. He also is actively involved in the community, offering tours of his facilities to local K-12 schools as well as college level courses. Summer Austin has brought classes from UH to tour and write about Chad’s innovative and sustainable systems. Surfing Medicine International has selected Chad Durkin to be a Board of Directors member because he has already accomplished many of the goals we are striving for. We look forward to his guidance and direction in bringing us closer to our mission.

Lanie Dupont Jilg was selected to the U.S. Board because she has been working as an LPN in Brevard County Florida for ten years. She was selected for her staunch commitment to quality health care and her first hand experience in medical issues such as wound care, neurology, geriatrics, diabetes, and home health care. Lanie will impart philosophies and world-views shared by the health-care community in the United States today, and we look forward to her direction and suggestions considering the goals of Surfing Medicine International.

Michael McMahan of the U.S. Board, has sat on the Tualatin River Watershed council. Michael also has served as Chair for the Natural resource Committee of the Oregon Association of Nurseries (www.oan.org), and worked as the Horticulturist for Fisher Farms in Portland, Oregon. Surfing Medicine International feels that Michael McMahon will bring to the table the necessary people skills and non-profit management capabilities necessary for competent, unbiased, and informed decision making.

Max Parisi was selected to the U.S. Board for his interest in non-profit development and his experience with managing a business. Marcello Parisi started his own computer consulting company called PCFive O and is in the process of developing a non-profit organization with the intent of providing second-hand computers to K-12 classrooms in Hawaii.

Jay Oku was selected to the U.S. Board for his work on the North Shore O’ahu Chamber of Commerce, and his dedication to North Shore Disaster Preparedness.

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JAMAICA: SURFING MEDICINE INTERNATIONAL: OFFICIAL CHARITABLE TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATION RECOGNIZED BY THE JAMAICA DEPARTMENT OF COOPERATIVES AND FRIENDLY SOCIETIES ON DECEMBER 6, 2018, WITH OFFICIAL JAMAICA COMPANIES OFFICE ADDRESS LOCATED IN PORTLAND, PARISH, JAMAICA. SURFING MEDICINE INTERNATIONAL IS WORKING TOWARDS COLLABORATING TO ESTABLISH A JAMAICA MAROON LED BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO LEAD PROJECTS IN JAMAICA, GIVEN OUR RECENT ESTABLISHMENT AS AN OFFICIAL TAX EXEMPT CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION BY THE JAMAICA NATIONAL GOVERNMENT.

THERE ARE NO BENEFICIAL OWNERS AS WE ARE A JAMAICA DEPARTMENT OF COOPERATIVES AND FRIENDLY SOCIETIES CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION UNDER SECTION 2 AND SECTION 17 OF THE CHARITIES ACT, 2013 AND AS SUCH ARE ELIGIBLE FOR TAX EXEMPTION OR RELIEF UNDER THE
INCOME TAX, G.C.T., PROPERTY TAX, STAMP DUTY, TRANSFER TAX, CUSTOMS TAX, AND THE PROVISIONAL COLLECTION OF TAX (MINIMUM BUSINESS TAX) ORDER 2014.  ANY PROCEEDS MADE FROM THE PROJECT GO BACK TO ACHIEVING CHARITY GOALS TO CREATE BOTANICAL REMEDIES FOR HUMAN DISEASE AND POLLUTION, AND CREATING COLLABORATION BETWEEN INDIGENOUS PERSONS, ARTISTS, AND COASTAL COMMUNITIES TO MONITOR AND RESTORE ECOSYSTEM AND HUMAN HEALTH TO BENEFIT UNDERREPRESENTED INDIGENOUS PERSONS.

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