co-founder, adidas s.e.e.d. (school for experiential education in design)
[hired on an external consultant contract from 2020-2022 & moved to an internal role with same responsibilities]
one of my favorite ‘risks’ i’ve taken, to date. in 2019, after 2 years of research and uncovering data on early career talent in the footwear industry, i took a leap and left my full-time position at adidas. In collaboration with my then manager, we formed a shared vision: to build an industry operated education model that provides access to and awareness of the education and skills necessary to make a meaningful career as a footwear designer.
i packed my bags and moved myself to brooklyn, ny determined to bring this idea to life. though we did consider the option of keeping this as an external operation, my hope from the start was that adidas would see both the short and long term return on investment and that the impact would help deconstruct some of the corporate systems that only served the few, acting as proof of concept to other corporations and industries.
having the support and partnership of my co-founder and some amazing industry colleagues (inside and outside of adidas) made this all possible - not to mention the first group of candidates to apply (thank you!) and the amazing 6 women who believed in us and signed on to the opportunity (before we had a website, social media, or any other proof of the program, mind you).
it was a truly collaborative effort and we all took individual and collective risks to bring it to life and launch the program in January 2020 at adidas, in partnership with Pharrell Williams, and powered by Pensole Lewis College.
the journey to making this all happen was a true grind and a very rewarding experience enduring all of the peaks and valleys that come when you set out to change minds, change systems, and create new opportunities that can and did change lives.
the power of the collective brought this amazing program to life.
This picture was taken right after we pitched Pharrell Williams on the idea and received tons of positive feedback. He soon after committed to being the title sponsor for the program launch in January 2020 in collaboration with adidas.
we made a graphic and i took to the streets of NYC in fall 2019 to find the most talented creatives i could. while the program was open to people nation-wide, it was important that we made sure the local Brooklyn and NYC talent saw the opportunity as well. this was my favorite grassroots marketing experience of all time, i was reaching out to schools, restaurants, retailers, event hosts, community organizers, dm'ing industry folks, and airdropping this flyer everywhere (back when AirDrop was on for everyone all the time) on the subways, walking through SoHo, on cross-brooklyn citibike rides and everywhere else I could get to.
at the brooklyn creator farm, we often had amazing talents from around the industry come through and i took every opportunity possible to tell anyone who would listen about what we were doing in hopes that it would inspire advocacy or action in their respective sectors. the opportunity to discuss the idea with Maria Grazia-Churi was a particularly cool moment as she also shared about some of the initiatives for women in fashion she was working on at the time as well.
i was determined to revolutionize the recruiting and hiring processes. i decided to focus on creating as human and honest of an experience as possible and by evaluating talent based not on what they already know, but rather how quickly and how much the applicants can learn and apply new concepts relative to footwear design. i did my best to meet each candidate, acknowledge and remove my personal biases and provide open access to communicate, ask questions, and present anything they wanted to share about themselves and their skills in the mediums most comfortable. i also made a goal that everyone who applied or interviewed learned something new and felt poured into during the process rather than taken from. maintaining that with the volume of applicants we received was beyond exhausting, but the impact went far beyond what i expected was possible. i still have relationships with several candidates i had to decline from the program and i still light up when i see someone i once interviewed has carved their own pathway into the footwear industry.
we launched the program on 1/20/2020 and it felt absolutely surreal. knowing there may be challenges that may come up as we were still securing funding, we strategically planned a PR campaign that integrated into a larger adidas brand campaign that gave the program and the women in it great exposure and helped gain some notoriety and support that helped add a layer of protection and security.
the program still exists at adidas today, and during my time working with them, we brought in four generations of women into footwear design positions, launched several culturally relevant collections worldwide, and worked with some of the world's most talented people including when we designed the costumes for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever under Ruth Carter's direction and mentorship. Above is a picture of S.E.E.D's first product, we did the color & material design and brought this from ideation to market in our first 6 months of learning, all in the peak of the at-home mandate due to covid. it was all hands on deck and felt like more problems than we had time to solve - the students did amazing, learning by doing and under real corporate constraints and deadlines. i will never forget the feeling of holding this shoe for the first time. or the first time i saw a stranger wearing it out in public! it was unbelievable and so rewarding (and it sold out in 2 weeks). what S.E.E.D. stands for, the collective that came together to build it, and the journey of it all is what makes this such a highlight in my own career and achievements.