Sally Dee

Sally Dee’s path to founding and leading a successful public relations and marketing firm has been unconventional.

A native of Syracuse, New York, Sally developed her competitive drive early, winning state championships in both basketball and golf before taking her game to the University of South Florida (USF).

At USF, Sally was a three-time Academic All-American and competed on the nationally ranked women’s golf team. After graduating cum laude in 1994, she pursued her lifelong goal of playing professional golf.

During her professional career, Sally recorded five top-10 finishes before an elbow injury ultimately cut her playing career short. Even while competing, she was equally interested in the business behind the sport. Acting as her own agent, Sally developed a personal marketing and branding strategy that helped her secure endorsements with some of the world’s leading sports and lifestyle brands, including Callaway, Nike, Titleist and Lacoste.

Her competitive career also included winning the 2004 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship and appearing as a contestant on the Golf Channel’s Big Break X.

Following her golf career, Sally worked for two Fortune 500 companies, gaining experience that helped shape her approach to business and client service. She later returned to USF, earning her MBA in 2011.

In 2012, Sally founded Playbook Public Relations with a simple philosophy: understand each client’s goals, develop a smart strategy and work relentlessly to deliver results. Today, Playbook is a full-service public relations and marketing firm serving a diverse portfolio of organizations across transportation, infrastructure, real estate, professional services, hospitality, insurance and other industries.

Under Sally’s leadership, Playbook has earned multiple Tampa Bay Business Journal “Best in the Biz” awards and has been recognized four times as a USF Fast 56 company, which honors the fastest-growing businesses owned or led by USF alumni.

Sally’s connection to USF and the Tampa Bay community remains an important part of her life and leadership. She served as Chair of the USF Alumni Association Board of Directors and remains actively involved in supporting the university and the community she has called home since arriving in Tampa at 18 years old with a golf bag and a goal of playing professionally.

The same principles that shaped Sally’s athletic career continue to guide Playbook today: preparation, discipline, adaptability and a commitment to delivering for the people who put their trust in us.

At the heart of it all is service. Service to Playbook’s clients. Service to the community. And a commitment to helping the people and organizations Playbook represents achieve their goals.