Keynote and Featured Speakers

Diane Bristol is Vice President of Culture & Community for Simms Fishing Products. Diane has been with SIMMS for over 30 years, and previously worked with the former parent company, Life-Link International. Diane’s current role is a combination of helping Simms achieve even greater success by implementing broader employee professional development plans and helping Simms employees grow personally and professionally. In addition, a key aspect of this role is to elevate SIMMS at all levels of the community (local, state and national) and identify opportunities to promote and support SIMMS’ employee involvement within the community.

Diane is currently serving on the Board of Trustees for Casting for Recovery and serves on the board for the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation and the American Sportfishing Association. She has also served as Vice Chair for Warriors and Quiet Waters Foundation Board of Directors, on the board of American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA) and the International Women Fly Fishers. Along with her board roles, Diane is also a program volunteer for the WQW FX program and Casting for Recovery retreat. Earlier this year, Diane received the Lefty Kreh Industry Leadership Award from the American Fly Fishing Trade Association.

Diane is an avid angler who enjoys fishing adventures – especially those that require traveling to remote locations.

Martin Peters is Division Manager, External Affairs for Yamaha’s U.S. Marine Business Unit, the part of Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA that markets, sells and distributes Yamaha Outboards in the United States. The unit also operates G3 Boats®, Skeeter Boats®, Yamaha Marine Performance Propellers, Inc., and other marine industry companies.
Martin joined Yamaha in 2006 and leads the business unit’s government relations, advocacy, conservation and Yamaha Rightwaters™ sustainability efforts. He also leads teams that create communication strategies supporting the marine brand.

In January 2017, Peters was appointed to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Marine Sanctuary Business Advisory Council (BAC) as one of 15 council members to serve a three-year term. He currently serves on the Natural Resources and Energy Policy Committee for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and on the Government Relations Committee of the American Sportfishing Association® (ASA). Past service includes chairman of the Communication Committee for the Center for Sportfishing Policy, chairman of Boat PAC for the National Marine Manufacturers Association® (NMMA®) and chairman of Tread Lightly, a non-profit organization that advocates for ethical land use and public land access.

Peters was the 2019 recipient of ASA’s Fisheries Conservation Achievement Award in recognition of “outstanding contributions to fisheries conservation and recreational fishing and boating.”

Casey Shedd is the President of AFTCO, a 60+ year-old third-generation family business based in California. Through donated time, energy and financial resources, Casey is an advocate for the idea that recreational anglers are the original stewards of fisheries conservation.

His background is in digital marketing and data analytics. Prior to joining AFTCO, he was a data analyst at Macys.com, an online marketing specialist at Shopatron and a deckhand for a winter season at Crocodile Bay in Costa Rica.

Casey’s current focus at AFTCO is building a family business that will last another 60 years and expanding on their sustainability and conservation efforts. Casey is a board member and supporter of CCA’s Building Conservation Trust and the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. He is also a member of ASA’s board of directors having been elected to the seat in 2021.

Casey pursues his passion for surfing, fishing, and spending time with his wife and two kids from their home in San Clemente, California.

If you’re looking for a laugh at his expense this Summit, ask him about his poor planning for a weeklong inflatable paddleboard trip deep within the Bob Marshal Wilderness which involved a diet of mostly Pop-Tarts and Snickers.

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 15 years 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 ASA’s Marketing and Market Insights committees; Boating Industry’s Leadership Council; the Marine Marketers of America Board of Directors; and NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries Business Advisory Council. She was recognized in Boating Industry’s 2020 Women Making Waves and she volunteers with Casting for Recovery.

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.