Keynote and Featured Speakers

Join us on Wednesday and Thursday for our General Sessions.

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

The Next Big Thing: Artificial Intelligence and the Recreational Fishing Industry

General Session
11:00 a.m – 11:45 a.m.
Emerald Ballroom D/E

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) are hot topics in the outdoor recreation industry—and everywhere else, for that matter. The media explosion about how GenAI can be used to create content across platforms is raising everyone’s awareness of the pros and cons of this technology.

This session will introduce some fundamental explanations about how AI and GenAI work and how they are being deployed in the recreational fishing industry. This talk will address GenAI in relation to content creation and marketing, as well as the role AI is playing in consumer engagement and other aspects of the industry.

Presenter

Sid Dobrin

Co-owner, Inventive Fishing; Chair, Department of English, University of Florida; Adobe Digital Thought Leader; and Host, The Fishing Professor Podcast

Sid Dobrin’s professional background spans a myriad of topics and interests. Not to mention that he is an avid angler, scuba diver instructor and bourbon connoisseur.

Sid is the author of Talking about Generative AI: A Guide for Educators and AI and Writing. As a global leader in Generative AI education, Sid is a global in-demand speaker on the topic, having recently presented in Australia, Singapore and across the US.

Since 1997, Sid has been a professor and Chair of the Department of English at the University of Florida. He is also the founding Director of UF’s Trace Innovation Initiative, an interdisciplinary research hub at the intersections of writing studies, media studies, cultural studies and ecocriticism.

He’s a member of the Florida Institute for National Security (FINS) and has been named a Digital Thought Leader by Adobe.

On the fishing side, he writes for several fishing magazines including Florida Sportsman, Guy Harvey Magazine, Saltwater Sportsman and others. He is co-owner of Inventive Fishing and host of the Fishing Professor Rod Cast. Sid is also the author of Fishing Gone? Saving the Ocean through Sportfishing and Distance Casting: Words and Ways of the Saltwater Fishing Life.

For close to a decade, Sid has been an active ASA member, including volunteering his time as very popular ICAST Lunch & Learn seminar speaker.

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

Analyzing the Numbers: Looking at the Future

General Session
9:15 a.m. 9:45 a.m.
Emerald Ballroom D/E

Southwick Associates President Rob Southwick and RBFF’s Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications Stephanie Vatalaro will provide an overview of the new U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service survey numbers and RBFF’s survey data.

Presenters

Rob Southwick

President, Southwick Associates

Stephanie Vatalaro

Senior Vice President, Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation

Rob Southwick
President
Southwick Associates

Rob began his career in the late 1980s as an economist for the former Sport Fishing Institute, now the American Sportfishing Association.

By 1990, he had formed Southwick Associates, specializing in market and economic research within the hunting, shooting and sportfishing markets. Based in Rob’s home state of Florida, supported by a national staff of more than 12 experts, Southwick Associates offers an array of services including highly confidential custom research along with syndicated market reports available for purchase.

Common projects include understanding customers’ new product preferences and pricing; competitor and brand analyses; acquisitions due diligence; and more.

Rob also serves as the American Sportfishing Association’s point person for market insights and statistics. With more than 30 years of experience, Southwick Associates provides the sportfishing industry with a level of knowledge and understanding unobtainable anywhere else.

Stephanie Vatalaro
Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation

Stephanie Vatalaro is the Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications at the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF), where she leads the consumer and stakeholder outreach strategy for RBFF and its Take Me Fishing™ and Vamos A Pescar™ brand campaigns.

A marketing and communications professional with more than 20 years’ experience in corporate, agency, non-profit and TV newsroom settings, Vatalaro has devoted the last 16 years of her career to getting more people out on the water fishing and boating and conserving our nation’s aquatic natural resources.

Vatalaro received her B.S. degree from Florida State University and earned a Certificate in 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.

FEATURED PANEL:

Policy, Management and Conservation: How is Recreational Fishing Faring

General Session
10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Emerald Ballroom D/E

ASA Government Affairs Vice President Mike Leonard will provide an overview of the top policy issues impacting the sportfishing industry. A moderated panel of fisheries management and conservation experts will discuss the pressing and emerging challenges for fresh and saltwater fisheries.

MODERATOR

Mike Leonard

Vice President of Government Affairs
American Sportfishing Association
Presenters

Chris Horton

Senior Director, Fisheries Policy
Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation

Kellie Ralston

Vice President, Conservation and Public Policy
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust

Kurt Thiede

Director, Government Affairs
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Chris Horton
Senior Director, Fisheries Policy
Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation

Chris Horton joined the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) in 2010 as Midwestern States Director. Chris now serves as the Senior Director of Fisheries Policy for CSF and is the organization’s primary point of contact on both state and federal fisheries-related issues. He has served on the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council, Marine Protected Area Federal Advisory Committee, and the National Fish Habitat Partnership Board.

He is currently a member of the American Sport Fishing Association’s Government Affairs Committee, the Center for Sportfishing Policy Government Relations Committee and the Future Angler Foundation Board of Directors.

Prior to joining CSF, Chris served as the Conservation Director for the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.). His primary responsibility was to work with and represent the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation and B.A.S.S. members on local, state and national conservation issues that impact sportfishing. During his tenure at B.A.S.S., he was part of a U.S. delegation to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization in the development of a Code of Practice for Recreational Fisheries.

Chris received a master’s degree in fisheries from the University of Arizona. Prior to working with B.A.S.S., Chris served as the reservoir research biologist, as well as the black bass biologist, for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Kellie Ralston
Vice President, Conservation and Public Policy
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust

Kellie Ralston, a fifth generation Floridian, serves as the Vice President for Conservation and Public Policy for the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. Kellie attended Florida State University where she furthered her interest in the natural and marine world and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology.

Kellie began her professional career working on water quality and Everglades restoration projects with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and then served as an analyst for the Florida House of Representatives’ Water and Resource Management Committee.

She then worked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission where she was involved in policy development and stakeholder coordination for the Division of Marine Fisheries Management.

Most recently, Kellie served as the American Sportfishing Association’s Southeast Fisheries Policy Director, addressing fisheries, habitat and water quality issues in the Gulf and South Atlantic region.

She also serves as Vice Chair of NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee and is a member of the agency’s American Fisheries Advisory Committee.

Kurt Thiede
Director, Government Affairs
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Kurt Thiede is the Government Affairs Director for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. In that role he oversees and directs the legislative work of the Association, representing the state, territorial and provincial fish and wildlife agencies before the U.S. Congress and the public policy work of the Association before the federal Executive Branch agencies.

Prior to joining the Association, Kurt spent 18 years with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, including serving as the Deputy Secretary from 2015 to 2017. Kurt most recently served as the Regional Administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 in Chicago, where he oversaw environmental programs for the six state Great Lakes Region, as well as serving as the Great Lakes National Program Manager. Throughout his 20-year state and federal career he has promoted collaboration, creative problem-solving, common-sense decision-making, and active stakeholder engagement.

Kurt has a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife management and biology from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and in 2016 he received an outstanding alumnus award from their school of natural resources. He is active in the outdoors and enjoys all forms of hunting, fishing, camping, bird watching, photography and hiking with his wife, and three children. A native of Wisconsin, Kurt and his family now reside in Brunswick, Md.

Thursday, October 5, 2023

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Piercing Through the Noise

General Session
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Emerald Ballroom D/E

There is an extraordinary amount of noise concerning the status of the economy today and what the future will look like.

Using an analytical approach, Patrick Luce will take a dispassionate look at the trends that define the economy up through 2025.

He’ll examine key industries to determine what phase of the business cycle they are in and what the future looks like for each. Some industries are faring better than others; it is important you know which industries/markets they are in order to potentially mitigate the impact of business cycle decline.

Management objectives consistent with his forecasts for inflation and interest rates will provide actionable takeaways for attendees.

Presenter

Patrick Luce

Economist – ITR Economics

Patrick Luce is a vital member of ITR Economics’ team of expert economists. He lends his expertise to client reports, forecast reviews, research and frequent communications with clients.

Patrick double-majored in finance and economics at the University of Tampa and went on to earn a master’s degree in economics from the University of South Florida. His accomplishments include serving as a panel member and moderator for Institute of Strategic Policy Solutions events, serving as a contributor to the American Water Works Association Manual M1, presenting at AWWA Utility Management Conferences and publishing insights in the Florida Water Resources Journal.

Prior to joining the ITR Economics team, Patrick worked as a management consultant, specializing in financial and economic modeling for local government agencies. Additionally, Patrick is an adjunct professor at his undergraduate alma mater, where he teaches courses in macroeconomics.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Observations On Consumer Retail Spending

General Session
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Emerald Ballroom D/E

Don Unser, president of Thought Leadership for Circana, formerly NPD, will share Circana’s observations on consumer spending from their rich data assets of over $3 trillion of U.S. consumer spending.

Don spends time with the CEOs who represent the largest players in the U.S. retail sector. He will highlight the most important trends in consumer spending and what can be expected for the future, including the sporting goods categories and recreational fishing.

Presenter

Don Unser

President – Thought Leadership for Circana

Don Unser leads thought leadership for Circana. Don’s expertise in consumer and retail trends spans a wide range of categories, making him a trusted advisor to some of today’s most successful brands.

He is a frequent guest in the C-suites of companies such as Target, Apple, Best Buy, Newell and many others, that rely on him for insight into industry and category performance, the state of retail, and winning strategies of best-in-class companies. He is also a member of the Retail Industry Leaders Association board of directors.

Prior to joining Circana, Don was a 20-year veteran at Hewlett-Packard and held a variety of positions with the company, including Vice President of Retail Sales.

Don holds an MBA from the University of Tampa and a BS in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida, where he sits on the Deans’ Advisory Board.