Today’s episode is with Ms. Sheila Ruffin. Sheila Ruffin is 2008 graduate of Hampton and 2011 Howard Law graduate, and she  was born near the Chesapeake Bay of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, where her grandfather, “Big Rich,” was an avid boater. At age 6, she began planning family vacations with her mother, which taught her about the travel industry. As the Tourism Manager for a Caribbean carnival company, Sheila made history by coordinating the first U.S. group to attend and participate in a Cuban carnival, which hosted 120 represented countries and 90,000 attendees. In 2012, Sheila became familiar with yachting while working in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands on yacht marina construction, impacts from boating pollution, public beach access, and port congestion. As an energy attorney since 2015, she evaluated applications for commercial marinas and boat storage facilities, and assessed pollutants on waters. Sheila earned her travel agent certification from the Travel Institute, and founded Soca Caribbean Yacht Charters to “make waves & rock the boat” in the yacht industry, and it has been featured in publications such as Travel Noire and Black Enterprise. In the interview, we discuss her time at Hampton University, as well as her time working in the tourism industry. Thanks for tuning and remember to rate, share, subscribe!