Sheila Ruffin

Sheila ruffin is an African American woman who grew up on the Virginia eastern shore, where the boating industry wasn't very common. Sheila's grandfather was an avid boater, which influenced her to base her career around the maritime industry. Sheila graduated from Hampton University and Howard Law school in St. Thomas, U.S Virgin Islands. Sheila believes where she went to college contributes to her success as the CEO of Soca Caribbean Yacht Charters. Before she started her company in 2015, she was a Maritime attorney in Washington D.C.  

 While she was an attorney she realised there was a lack of people of color in the yachting industry, which inspired her to make a change. Sheila was a Certified Travel Associate (CTA) from The Travel Institute. Sheila used all of her savings and credit cards and invested it into her dream business.  She had the knowledge and an idea which became very successful. In 2019 she launched her company “Soca Caribbean Yacht Charters, which is a Virginia based company with all inclusive yacht vacations. Sheila wanted to make sure her company was all inclusive so she can bring more diversity into the luxury yachting industry. I chose to write about Sheila Ruffin because as a female New York Harbor school student in Vessel Operations CTE (Career Technical Education), which is a male dominated industry, it’s important to honor women like Sheila for making our industry expand and become diverse. Sheila inspires young women like me in male dominated industries to always work hard and set an example for the next generation.