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Okoniewski is uniquely qualified to talk both Wall Street and whitewater, equities and undertows. A professional skimboarder sitting at number 11 in the global rankings, she’s also an associate at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset-management firm, which oversees more than $14 trillion (with a T) in holdings.

The Wilmington native started on this path at the age of 10. On vacation with her family in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, she picked up a beginner’s board from a local shop and found, as she puts it, “love at first skim.” Every summer from that point on, staying at her family’s beach house in Lewes, she catapulted herself into sandbars at the Naval Jetty, a local’s spot with long, low waves ideal for skimming. And she practiced in nearby Dewey Beach, an incubator for the sport that has helped define the East Coast skimboarding scene. 

“I’d pack a bag and have my mom drop me off in the morning around 9 a.m., and she’d pick me up in the evening,” Okoniewski said. “Sometimes I’d even go back after dinner. It was pretty much all day, every day.”

As a grom (surf-speak for novice), she entered her first competition at 14 — and was knocked out almost immediately. Okoniewski spent about two years this way, repeatedly leaving her dignity at the water’s edge. But she wasn’t deterred; she enrolled in local skimboarding camps and signed up for personal coaching. 

The work paid off. Okoniewski began placing in local, regional and national competitions, eventually earning an invitation to skimboarding’s pro circuit. At age 17, she traveled with Team USA to Cádiz, Spain, a sun-bleached outpost on the edge of the Atlantic. Nearly a decade younger than her competitors, she took first in the women’s professional division, comprising elite riders from around the globe. 

In short order, Okoniewski landed herself a sponsorship with Florida-based Zap, one of the most established brands in skimboarding. And she earned a reputation for charging waves with explosive precision. Her signature move? The barrel roll, a rare backflip performed while still attached to a board, executed above a breaking wave.

In the office, Okoniewski regularly leans on her skim skillset. Navigating an ever-changing regulatory environment and volatile market? Easier when you’ve spent years adjusting to shifting wave conditions on the fly. Plus, there’s that skimmer sense of timing. At the shoreline, entire competitions hinge on split-second decision making — when to go, when to hold back. And in the boardroom, where a missed deadline exposes the company to financial and legal risk, a feel for the moment is just as crucial. 

Perhaps most importantly, skimboarding has taught Okoniewski to value precision over flash, accuracy over showmanship.

“On the beach, instead of asking, ‘What’s the hardest trick I can do?’ I evaluate my audience and say, ‘What does this specific judging panel recognize as high-value today, in these conditions?’” she said. “This is the same mindset I bring when presenting proposals that require collaboration to internal teams." 

While transitioning to post-college life has made competing more difficult, Okoniewski is still a regular on the professional tour. And she’s also set a long-term goal: partnering with her skimboarding sponsor to create her own sustainable, durable swimwear brand, an idea she began developing as a fashion management minor on campus.

It’s yet another endeavor that will necessarily involve risk management and a giant leap — or barrel roll — of faith. But one thing is certain: Okoniewski isn’t afraid of a wipeout.

“I’ve learned that falling on your face is inevitable,” she said. “The important thing is having the confidence to persist.”