In 2010, Edwards began his journey as an educator by establishing PENSOLE, the first academy in the U.S. dedicated to footwear design. PENSOLE quickly became the preeminent footwear design school in the world by securing partnerships with the industry’s top footwear brands and retailers.  PENSOLE has placed more than 800 former alums in positions working professionally for some of today’s top brands: Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Brooks, Vans, Puma, Timberland, The North Face, JORDAN, Zenga, and others globally. 

As an educator, Dr. Edwards has taught and lectured at premiere schools, including  ArtCenter in Pasadena, CA; Parsons in New York; MIT in Boston, MA; Kolding Design School in Kolding Denmark; Harvard in Boston, MA; and he has spoken at the Clinton Global Conference. In 2019, ArtCenter College of Design recognized his career as a designer and educator by awarding him an Honorary Doctorate degree, making him the 4th person in ArtCenter’s 90-year history to receive this honor.

Dr. Edwards is known as one of the leading experts on diversity in design by his peers. He has fostered a network of over 600 Black and Brown designers across all design industries by creating an annual conference called the Black Footwear Forum. Every year the forum brings together industry artists, business, marketing, and design artists, and sneaker enthusiasts to share knowledge, resources, and opportunities to highlight and protect the creative influence and impact of Black creatives in the footwear industry and beyond.  His work around diversity has led to the Footwear News Icon Award, Footwear News Person of the Year, IDSA Special Achievement Award, Footwear Plus Lifetime Achievement Award, and Business of Fashion Global 500 Innovators Award.

After such a storied career, Dr. Edwards has achieved a personal career goal of opening the first Black-owned athletic footwear factory in the United States, JEMS. Named after a black shoemaking pioneer Jan Ernst Matzeliger, this manufacturing space allows aspiring Black designers to create their own brands and watch their ideas go from concept on the page to product in hand.

Dr. Edwards' most significant accomplishment in his career is leading the reopening of Detroit's HBCU, Lewis College of Business, now known as Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design (PLC). In 2022, FastCompany recognized PLC as one of the world's most innovative design companies. President Edwards is excited to be at the forefront of reopening and reaccrediting a previously closed HBCU, reversing a discouraging nationwide trend. Among its many distinctions, Detroit is the only American city to be conferred UNESCO City of Design designations, making it a natural fit for the country's first-ever design-focused HBCU.

Dr. Edwards’ mission is to leave the industry better than when he entered it and to eliminate the need for diversity conversations through actions that change the design industry's makeup.

Dr. D’Wayne Edwards began as a 19-year-old designer for LA Gear in 1989 without formal education. He has amassed over 50 patents and created a portfolio of over 500 designs that have adorned the feet of celebrities and athletes alike, appearing in the MLB, NFL, NBA, and six different Olympics.  A champion for diversity, he created the Black Footwear Forum, an annual conference highlighting Black creatives in the industry.

Edwards has taught at ArtCenter, Parsons, MIT, Kolding, Harvard, and the Clinton Global Conference. In 2010, he founded PENSOLE, the U.S.'s first footwear design academy, and has placed over 800  alums across the footwear industry. Edwards opened JEMS, the first Black-owned athletic footwear factory in the U.S., and is leading the nation's first-ever HBCU reaccreditation process,  reopening Lewis College of Business as Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design in America’s only UNESCO city of design: Detroit.