Dr. D’Wayne Edwards learned knowledge was currency early on.

As a young Black kid proudly repping Inglewood, CA, he refused to accept the projections others placed on him while pursuing a career in footwear design, despite having no formal college education. Still, he broke into the industry at just 19 as an entry-level designer for LA Gear, according to Southern University Law Center. Edwards attributes this to his hungry spirit and relentless drive to carve out space for himself in a field where few people looked like him.

“I started to understand the the the the value of actually either asking for help or being proximity to help,” Edwards told AFROTECH™. “And then that allowed me to propel myself past them because I was hungry. And when you’re hungry, you do anything to eat…Mentally, I needed that fuel because there were a certain level of, I think, animosity for me because I felt like they looked at me like a charity case because I’m a young Black kid fresh out of high school and I’m like, ‘Alright. Cool. I’ll take that,’ but I’m gonna take everything you have knowledge wise and leverage it to pass you up. But then I realized that became my currency. So the more knowledge I was able to acquire, the more value I had to not only that company but future companies as I move forward.”

That mindset helped shape a trailblazing career that includes a decade leading footwear design for Nike’s Jordan Brand, creating over 500 styles for icons including Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, Carmelo Anthony, and Tupac, owning more than 50 design patents. However, Edwards eventually stepped away from the corporate side of the industry to focus on empowering the next generation of creative leaders. He has since invested deeply in education through ventures such as PENSOLE, America’s first academy dedicated to footwear design. It has helped over 500 students secure roles at top companies like Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Puma, Vans, and Timberland. He also launched JEMS by PENSOLE, a footwear factory designed to amplify Black designers and create new opportunities. Edwards also made history by acquiring the former Lewis College of Business and reopening it as Pensole Lewis College (PLC), a design-focused HBCU, marking the first time an HBCU has ever been reopened in the U.S.

eHBCU

Edwards is scaling his efforts as one of the founding leaders behind eHBCU, a digital platform geared towards Black learners that has partnered with several fully accredited HBCUs, according to information shared with AFROTECH™. eHBCU offers 10 undergraduate degrees, 13 graduate degrees, and 35 certification programs and has an overarching goal of bridging the gap between business and design, he explained in a video shared on LinkedIn.

eHBCU’s areas of learning include:

  • Criminal Justice Administration, psychology, health information management systems (undergraduate degree)
  • Rehabilitation counseling, science and applied technology, business administration (graduate degree)
  • Adobe InDesign, Blender 3D Design, Cannabis Healthcare & Medicine (certification program)

“What we want do on the HBCU platform is provide relevant education to help them understand that you can be more than just a consumer. You can be a business. But then also leverage that education through relevant topics,” Edwards said during a panel discussion held at the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture in the Global Black Economic Forum Recruitment Center.

At the time of this writing, eHBCU’s partnership network includes Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design, Delaware State University, Southern University and A&M College Baton Rouge, Southern University at New Orleans, Southern University at Shreveport, and Alabama State University. This partnership is unique in allowing a student to program their own institutional journey at any of the HBCU’s regardless of where they reside.

“I’m from Inglewood, CA… If I’m still in Inglewood, I can get the HBCU experience virtually in the city where I grew up at, not being bound by geography,” said Edwards. “That’s the innovation in what eHBCU really is…But being able to do that, not only with HBCUs, but being able to get the culturally relevant education that you need to not only register, but to finish because you’ll be taught by people who look like you.”

AFROTECH™ Future 50

Edwards was recognized as an AFROTECH™ Future 50 Future Maker in 2025, a recognition awarded to individuals who drive innovation and achieve historic firsts in technology. He describes the feat as “humbling” and a reminder of what’s possible.

“The challenge that we also have is very few times when we get a chance to see someone looking like us in certain industries that we wanna get into. We can see them with a ball or a microphone because they’re playing ball or they’re on a mic on a concert, but rarely do you see some of those jobs behind the scenes. So I look at myself through that lens. If I’m able to be a beacon of opportunity for a kid that didn’t know or a parent that didn’t know being a designer can lead to some some financial stability in your life, that to me is why I’m doing it. That’s why I left the industry, so I can kinda give it all back to give the kids the unlock that I wasn’t able to actually have access to. So if I can give that unlock to a kid or to a parent, that’s what I feel like my job now today is,” Edwards acknowledges.