Education Foundation of Sarasota County Names Dudek and Williams to Support Student Success Initiatives

Education Foundation of Sarasota County President and CEO Jennifer Vigne has announced two staff appointments to assist in continuing to deliver signature initiatives and support services to teachers, students and families in Sarasota County public education.

Katherine M. Dudek is the new college and career advisor at the Education Foundation’s Student Success Center, opened in partnership with Sarasota High School (SHS). To meet coronavirus challenges, valuable services usually offered at an on-campus central hub are being delivered digitally. Examples include virtual college-career advising and mentoring, social-emotional lessons, and other information to help students and teachers progress toward their educational goals.

Most recently Dudek was the International Baccalaureate school counselor and 504 coordinator at Southeast High School in Bradenton. She has 26 years’ experience as a classroom teacher and school counselor in Florida and Texas schools. Dudek has a bachelor’s in English from Texas Tech University and a masters in counselor education from Texas Southern University.

The Student Success Centers at SHS, North Port High School, and Riverview High School represent a shared commitment to support the Education Foundation’s student success initiatives, which focus on enhancing postsecondary advising to prepare students for success after high school graduation.  

Thomas A. Williams, as the first director of PLANit Sarasota, the Local College Access Network, is a member of the leadership team of the Education Foundation, which also serves as coordinating backbone organization for PLANit Sarasota. 

  The local network of community partners comprising PLANit Sarasota is working toward a shared goal to increase the percentage of working-age adults in Sarasota County who hold high-quality postsecondary degrees or credentials to 60% by 2030.

 The PLANit Sarasota director position is named in honor of the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, whose funding support made it possible for the Education Foundation to hire an experienced professional for the full-time position.

  Williams leads the daily operations of PLANit Sarasota’s cross-sector partnerships, work groups, and steering committee, and is the primary point of contact for roadmap data. He is responsible for facilitating overall strategic planning, leading fiscal management and data analysis, providing organizational development, leveraging community engagement, and providing administrative duties to execute a collective impact model.

  He earned his bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Washington in Seattle. Williams has 22 years in upper management experience with corporations in Connecticut and Bradenton, Fla., and worked in London on a European best practices project.