Founder and CEO
Made Institute
Rachel Ford has been the founder and CEO of Made Institute since its inception in 2012, working as a trailblazer of accessible arts and design education.
After graduating from Drexel University with a BS in fashion design, Ford held design, education, and atelier roles for over a decade for companies such as Free People, Opera Philadelphia and Moore College of Art. Those appointments inspired her to create Made Institute, Philadelphia’s first independent design school and the revolutionary curriculum for Made’s Premier Fashion Certificate Program.
As an educator and mentor, Ford has served on several boards including The Philadelphia Fashion Incubator’s Advisory Committee, Fashion Group International as Regional Director, Philadelphia Fashion Garment Industry Task Force as Education Chair and is currently a proud mentor for the Fashion Scholarship Fund with the CFDA.