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D'Wayne Edwards  

Founder of PENSOLE Footwear Design Academy

Over the course of his 31-year career, D’Wayne Edwards has received numerous design awards from Red Dot to Mercedes Benz Fashion, has been voted one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, accumulated more than 40 patents, and designed more than 500 styles for premier athletes such as Derek Jeter, Carmelo Anthony and Michael Jordan.

In 2010 Edwards founded the first academy in the U.S. dedicated to footwear design, called PENSOLE.

PENSOLE has quickly become the preeminent footwear design school in the world by securing partnerships with the industry’s top footwear brands and retailers, and has placed more than 475 former PENSOLE alums in positions working professionally for some of today’s top brands: Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, New Balance, Brooks, Vans, Puma, Timberland, JORDAN, and others globally.

As an educator Edwards has taught and lectured at some of the premiere schools in the world from ArtCenter, Parsons, MIT, Harvard and speaker at the Clinton Global Conference.

President Barack Obama awarded him the President Volunteer of Service Award in 2016.

In 2019, ArtCenter college of design recognized Dr. Edwards career as a designer and educator by awarding him an honorary Doctrine making him the 4th person in the colleges 90-year history to receive this honor.

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