PORT ST. LUCIE PEOPLE
The PRODUCER
54 Port St. Lucie Magazine
ED DRONDOSKI PHOTOS
Sonia DuPree uses her love of writing and working with youth to reach out to teens through her corporation, E.N.D. It! (Everybody’s Not Doing It!)
With two diverse careers in her life, Sonia DuPree
is proof that the artist and the mathematician can
co-exist. A former IBM computer programmer,
the Port St. Lucie mother of three has let her creative
side take the reins in recent years to help teens see their
way to a more fulfilling life.
Growing up in a military family, DuPree always liked writing
skits and performing. She spent her early school years
in Valdosta, Ga., and her high school years were in Austin,
Texas. A cheerleader from a young age, DuPree always felt
at home in front of a crowd. She remembered taking a drama
class in high school and making it to the second level of a
competition with her cheerleading squad.
When she moved to Port St. Lucie in 2004, DuPree was
a work-at-home programmer for IBM, working out of the
Jacksonville office. A Savannah State University graduate
with a business administration degree, she and her husband,
Strather “Skip,” started thinking about the choices and influences
that confront teens when their oldest daughter, Simone,
was in middle school.
In 2010, the couple formed a corporation named E.N.D. It!
(Everybody’s Not Doing It) to help teens find their way to a
better and more fulfilling life. DuPree then began recruiting
Simone’s school friends and youth from various churches to
perform in skits she wrote dealing with topics youth face in
today’s world.
“For years, I have been involved in some form of youth
ministry,” DuPree said. “I always had a burning in my heart
for youth. They have so many things thrown at them through
their music, television and culture. The negative influences
seemed to be the loudest and boldest. I wanted to help them
build their confidence and their boldness for doing the right
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BY PATTIE DURHAM