"You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his or her own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful." -- Marie Curie

Our Mission

Outer Islands Partnership, Inc., is a nonprofit collaborative initiative aimed at building global partnerships to support the health care, economic development, and educational needs of women and children in the remote and isolated outer islands scattered throughout the Pacific island nation of Micronesia.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is the governing body for OIP, responsible for the legal, strategic, and fiduciary oversight and direction of the organization. All board members are volunteers who serve without compensation.

Barry Staley, D.D.S.
Periodontist (retired)

Scott Kelley, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice President for Vincentian Scholarship
Office of Mission & Values
DePaul University

Joseph Vitug
Principal Engineer
Tower Six

Brian Thayer
Account Manager
Dialog Semiconductor

Desha Staley-Raatior
Project Manager
Matlack-Vanevery Design

Vidalino Raatior
Assistant Director, Study Abroad
International Programs Office
Santa Clara University

Advisory Board

The Board of Advisors are global and local leaders who informally provide valuable support, advice and assistance to OIP's founder and the Board of Directors. They receive no compensation for their volunteer services.

His Excellency Masao Nakayama
FSM Ambassador to the United Nations, New York City.

James Naich
Deputy Chief of Mission, FSM Embassy, Washington D.C.

Len Isotoff
General Manager, Matson Shipping, Guam Port

Dennis Gordon, Ph.D.
Professor of Political Science, Santa Clara University

Philip Osomai
Assistant Mayor, Houk Municipality, Micronesia

John A. Van Every, O.D.
VanEvery Vision

Erencia Saipwerik, RSM
Vice Principal, Saramen Chuuk Academy

Our Story

The idea to form a way to bring global resources to empower children and women in the outer islands was Vid's dream ever since he left those islands as a young man to get an education. It began to take shape with the support of his wife Desha and her family in Santa Cruz, CA.

In 2004, Vid and Desha quit their jobs at Santa Clara University and University of San Francisco respectively to volunteer at Xavier High School in Micronesia. That profound experience deepened their desire to find more formal ways to be involved in the empowerment of the impoverished people from those isolated islands.

To support their educational effort in Chuuk, Desha's father Dr. Barry Staley, a retired periodontist and his librarian wife Stephanie started the Micronesia Dental Support Project out of their home to solicit dental equipment to send to Chuuk State Public Health Clinic. They succeeded in filling an entire 40-foot container worth over $500,000 which they shipped via Matson Shipping Lines to Chuuk. They both flew to Chuuk to help the local staff to set up the equipment and to bring some books to the Xavier High School library.

In the summer of 2008, Dr. Staley returned to Chuuk with a team of volunteer dentists and a support crew to operate free dental clinics on the outer island of Houk. Unfortunately, the high fuel cost grounded the one small airliner that serviced the outer islands so the team set out to help people in several villages on the main island of Weno. They also went to the island of Toloas on the invitation of their mayor.

Outer Islands Partnership, Inc., is scheduled to be formally registered in California as a charitable organization with 501(c)3 status. The vision is to build global partnerships to bring educational, health care, and economic development resources to the empower the women and children in the outer islands of Chuuk.