Parsons School of Design Appoints two new faculty members to join school of fashion

"It is my honor to join Parsons as an Assistant Professor," said Joshua Williams. "Redefining a graduate level education for a new generation of students is imperative to meeting the demands of a fast-changing fashion business environment. This program breaks the traditional four walls of the classroom, connecting rigorous academic theory and research with a real-world, real-time experience. It is entrepreneurial in approach, challenging students to think differently—to innovate at the nexus of creativity and commerce. I look forward to engaging with students, faculty, and administration in this exciting endeavor."

"I am truly privileged to join Parsons School of Design as Assistant Professor," said Christopher Lacy. "Parsons is an institution that firmly believes in creativity, leadership, and the power of change when we share knowledge in a collaborative environment. It is an honor for me to join a brand with innovative faculty and students who will continue to change the way we see ourselves, our community, and our industries."

Joshua Williams is an experienced creative director, consultant, educator and personality. Joshua has a master's degree in Global Fashion Management (FIT, IFM, HKPU) and a bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts (BYU). His expertise includes fashion branding, advertising, social media and retail. Clients include: JM, Adornia, Miguelina, Anne Valerie Hash, Andrew Marc, Vh1 Save the Music, and “West East” magazine. He is the co-founder of QueerCut, an LGBTQ marketplace and is currently working on a book that considers the intersection between gender, sexuality and fashion.  Joshua was a full-time professor and chair of Fashion Merchandising & Management at Berkeley College for five years, responsible for 1,000+ students and 30+ faculty across nine campuses. In 2016, he developed the fashion design program for Bergen Community College. Additionally, he has taught for FIT, LIM, The New School, Gateway (Telemark, Norway) and as a guest lecturer at EAFIT (Medellin & Bogota, Colombia), ISEM (Madrid, Spain) and University of Navarre (Pamplona, Spain). He recently developed three courses for the MFA and MPS graduate programs at FIT, which he taught. Each week, he hosts Faces & Places in Fashion, interviewing iconic fashion innovators.

Christopher Lacy is a strategic customer experience, and operations executive who has worked across multiple markets in the US including New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas over the last 20 years. Throughout the course of his career he has managed and strategized for businesses such as Armani, Hugo Boss, Donna Karan, Omega, Zilli and Gucci. Most recently, Christopher leveraged his expertise to evolve the business and client engagement at Barneys New York as the Director of Customer Experience, Learning and Strategy. He was a Chairperson for the Barneys New York Foundation with an objective to support key causes in LGBT, education and the arts. Currently, Christopher supports RuiRu Rising, Native Son Now, and New Alternatives; organizations that focus on the enhancement of education in Kenya, the empowerment of gay men of color and support for teens who are in the process of transitioning. Christopher is the founder and owner of Christopher Lacy Consulting, a business committed to assisting companies build and execute training initiatives and client development strategies that improve external and internal customer journeys. He has developed curriculum for the Parsons Executive Global Leadership Team as well as conducted lectures and workshops at Polimoda.