ORLANDO, Fla. — From supporting new learning and play spaces for students to connecting with engineers across disciplines and exploring the AEC industry’s influence on public policy, DRMP’s Kim Sadowski, PE, spent the past 10 months building connections and exploring ways to contribute to her profession and community.
DRMP congratulates Sadowski, Orlando Assistant Roadway Group Leader, on graduating from the Florida Engineering Leadership Institute’s (FELI) Class of 2026.
Administered by the Florida Engineering Society (FES) and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida (ACEC Florida), FELI is a competitively selected, 10-month professional development program designed to cultivate leadership skills in engineers across the state. Sadowski continues DRMP’s long-standing involvement in FELI, joining numerous employees who have been accepted into the program over the years.
For Sadowski, FELI also meant getting to know engineers whose expertise and perspectives differ from her own.
“I think it was a deeper connection with our overall engineering community,” Sadowski said. “There were leaders from all different areas of our industry, from DOT to consultants, in fields like structures, drainage, water resources, roadway, and CEI. They are all experts in their field and brought inspiration every time we had a session.”
Over 10 months of sessions, those connections had time to develop into relationships. Sadowski came away from FELI with trusted colleagues throughout the industry — people she can continue learning from and turn to for perspectives outside her own discipline.
Each FELI class also completes a community service project that gives back to the engineering profession or local communities. The Class of 2026 put its collective effort behind two projects.
In Clearwater, the class raised approximately $60,000 for new playground equipment serving middle-school-aged students at a school for students with autism. The project added swings and climbing equipment, expanding the recreational space available to the school’s older students.
Sadowski attended the project’s ribbon-cutting and watched the students use the new equipment for the first time.
“Seeing those smiles was really rewarding,” she said.
The class also raised approximately $40,000 to support a STEM lab at a Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida in Kissimmee, providing equipment and helping enhance the space for students to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
As part of the program, the class also traveled to Tallahassee for Legislative Days, where Sadowski and her classmates learned more about how legislation affects the AEC industry and how engineers can engage in the legislative process. The class even adopted the flamingo as an unofficial symbol after encountering legislation that proposed naming the American flamingo Florida’s official state bird.
Legislative Days also connected with an opportunity Sadowski had already been considering closer to home: serving on the City of Winter Park Transportation Advisory Board.
Through connections she made during FELI, Sadowski received encouragement to pursue the opportunity. She now serves on the board, where she can bring her transportation background to conversations affecting the community.
Following through on goals was another takeaway for Sadowski. During the program’s final session, participants identified goals they wanted to carry forward and discussed how accountability can help move them forward.
“That’s something that stuck with me,” Sadowski said, recalling what she told herself: “OK, you said you’re going to do it. Do it.”
Sadowski’s graduation adds another FELI graduate to DRMP and expands the firm’s connections across Florida’s engineering community. For Sadowski, those connections provide a broader professional network she can draw from as she leads and supports roadway work at DRMP and serves the transportation needs of her community.
About DRMP
Since 1977, DRMP has earned a reputation as a trusted multidisciplinary civil engineering and surveying firm delivering innovative infrastructure solutions that strengthen communities. What began as a Florida-based surveying practice has grown into a leading Southeastern engineering consulting firm with more than 1,000 professionals across 32 offices.
Today, DRMP’s engineers, planners, surveyors, and scientists partner with state transportation agencies, municipalities, federal clients, and private developers to plan, design, and deliver critical infrastructure. Our integrated services span surveying and geospatial services, civil engineering, land development, and community planning by supporting projects that improve transportation infrastructure and mobility, resilience, and quality of life across the Southeastern United States.
