{"id":416667,"date":"2026-10-02T11:30:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T11:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/416667\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T11:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T11:30:24","slug":"50-most-powerful-people-of-2026-in-orlando-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/416667\/","title":{"rendered":"50 Most Powerful People Of 2026 In Orlando: Education"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.orlandomagazine.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/t\/y\/rgz-5999.jpg\" data-lb-width=\"800\" data-lb-height=\"1156\" class=\" photoswipe gtxlightbox\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-326235 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/rgz-5999-709x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Rgz 5999\" width=\"489\" height=\"706\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>4.\u00a0Dr. Georgia Lorenz | President, Seminole State College<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">For Dr. Georgia Lorenz, president of Seminole State College, strengthening Central Florida\u2019s future begins with connecting education, workforce development and career opportunities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">As Orlando grows, employers need skilled workers in health care, engineering, technology, advanced manufacturing and the trades. Colleges must respond while keeping education accessible and affordable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\u201cThe impact of postsecondary education extends beyond the classroom,\u201d Lorenz said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Seminole State generates more than $1.3 billion in added income for the regional economy, an impact equivalent to supporting 14,615 jobs. A $2.8 million Florida Job Growth Grant will help expand programs in engineering technology, data analytics, welding, HVAC, airframe maintenance and electrical training.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe impact of postsecondary education extends beyond the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Lorenz also launched Impact 2030, Seminole State\u2019s strategic plan focused on student success, employee development and regional partnerships. The college received $10 million in state funding toward a Workforce, Science and Technology Center at its Altamonte Springs campus, allowing it to double the size of its nursing program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The college is also helping students overcome challenges outside the classroom. Created with Heart of Florida United Way, the Raider C.A.R.E. Village connects students with nonprofit and social services. A CareerSource Central Florida campus hub provides employment resources while helping businesses find qualified workers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Lorenz said employers can strengthen education through advisory boards, internships and investments in training facilities. A $2 million gift from the Wharton-Smith Foundation supported renovations to Seminole State\u2019s workforce trades center.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Despite limited resources and rising costs, Lorenz remains guided by what will benefit the greatest number of students.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\u201cThey are resilient,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat I enjoy most is watching them discover what\u2019s possible for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4.\u00a0Dr. Georgia Lorenz | President, Seminole State College For Dr. Georgia Lorenz, president of Seminole State College, strengthening&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-416667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}