Stephanie Vatalaro is a skilled executive leader with 19 years’ experience working in the marine industry – most recently as the Chief Operating Officer and SVP, Marketing & Communications for the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF), where she led the B2C campaigns Take Me Fishing™ and Vamos A Pescar™ to recruit newcomers to fishing and boating along with B2B efforts to increase recruitment, retention and reactivation (R3) efforts in partnership with state, federal and industry partners.

 

An award-winning marketing and communications professional with corporate, agency, non-profit and TV newsroom settings, Vatalaro has devoted the majority of her career to getting more people out on the water fishing and boating and conserving our nation’s aquatic natural resources.

 

Vatalaro currently serves on the Marine Marketers of America Board of Directors. She has also served on the American Sportfishing Association’s (ASA) Marketing and Market Insights Committees, NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries Business Advisory Council and Sea Tow Foundation’s Boating Safety Advisory Council. Vatalaro was recognized in Boating Industry’s 2020 Women Making Waves and she volunteers with Casting for Recovery. She also received the American Sportfishing Association's Inspire Award in 2024.

 

Vatalaro received her B.S. degree in Communications from Florida State University and completed an Executive Education program in Leadership and Management at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. She grew up in the Florida Keys and is the daughter of a flats fishing guide. She now spends summers fishing and boating with her family on the Potomac River in Virginia.