Since May 2015, Beth Duda has been one of the driving forces of the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (SCGLR). SCGLR is a four-county effort in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties to help children from birth through 3rd grade, especially those from asset-limited families, succeed in life. SCGLR efforts center around school readiness (ages 0-5), summer learning, strengthening attendance, and affirming that learning happens everywhere through strong community, family, and parent engagement opportunities.

As the director of SCGLR, Beth works closely with local lead partners—Community Foundation of Sarasota County, United Way Suncoast, and United Way of Charlotte County—to drive progress in the region. To embed lasting change, the future-focused partners strive to collaborate with every sector: people, businesses, nonprofits, government, and the media.

Multiple Pacesetter Honors from the national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (annually since 2014) affirm the success of SCGLR's collaborative effort and its work. Pacesetter Honors highlight communities that make measurable progress on key indicators of early school success, including early literacy and school readiness, chronic absenteeism and its effects on reading progress, and mitigating summer learning loss by connecting children with quality educational opportunities and programs.

Beth is the host of THIS BOOK IS COOL!, a web series designed to help foster a love of reading and learning for children in Pre-K through third grade. THIS BOOK IS COOL! webisodes, activity guides, and featured books provide numerous opportunities for children, parents, and families to engage in reading and learning.

An award-winning playwright and educator, Beth spent more than twenty years working with students and educators in elementary schools throughout Florida. In 2020, she used her playwriting skills to write Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, A Walk To Respect which The Patterson Foundation (TPF) produced in partnership with Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe as part of TPF's 10th-anniversary celebration. Abraham Lincoln & Frederick Douglass was presented at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in February 2023.

In her twenty-plus years of arts education, Beth's sensitive and visionary education and learning approach continues to inspire students, parents, and educators.

Beth is a proud member of Leadership Florida's Education Class IV, a statewide community of leaders working for a better Florida.

She was raised in Central New York and received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from SUNY-Oswego.

Join Beth on Twitter: @duda_beth or @suncoastcglr

To contact Beth: bduda@thepattersonfoundation.org