The District Five Foundation for Educational Excellence is pleased to announce and welcome Mary Kathryne Wadford as the Foundation’s Executive Director. She joins the Foundation with 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector.

Wadford will be responsible for developing and executing fundraising, marketing and communications, finance, and administration plans to achieve the strategic goals. In addition, she will focus on raising awareness of the Foundation in the community by building relationships with businesses, chambers, civic organizations, students, teachers, administrators, and District 5 alumni.

Vera Timmons, District Five Foundation Board President, states “We are so excited to have Mary Kathryne working as the Director for the Foundation! She has a wealth of experience and ideas of how we can grow and better serve our teachers, staff, students, and schools.”

She joins the Foundation from the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics Foundation in Columbia, SC, where she served as the Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations. During her time at the GSSM Foundation, she was responsible for executing multiple fundraising campaigns including individuals, events, and grant writing to achieve an annual organization goal of over $2 million.

“I am honored to be a part of the District Five Foundation and have the opportunity to work with the Foundation Board, as well as administrators, teachers, and students across the District,” Wadford said. “As a Lexington Richland School District 5 parent, I look forward to continuing the great work of the Foundation to ensure that District 5 remains one of the top school districts in South Carolina for years to come.”

The District 5 Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, non-profit 501(c)

(3) organization that exists to foster unity and support teachers and students in Lexington-Richland School District 5. The D5 Foundation explores and funds opportunities for our students and teachers in four key areas: Learning Readiness; Arts and Cultural Experiences; Science and Technology; and Leadership Development.