Editor’s Note: Matthew J. Dunigan is a Fashion For All Foundation student.

On Tuesday evening, Fashion For All Foundation afforded us students and general guests the opportunity to sit before Steven Kolb of the CFDA. As an attendee, I sat in gratitude of having the opportunity to glean from a man that I had first encountered distantly through my protest with Fashion For All. Last night proved to me that nothing is coincidental. Steven is committed to being present for engagements that provide accessibility to those who don’t usually have it in fashion, and he is dedicated to the evolution of social consciousness in fashion.

At the Fashion For All Foundation headquarters in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights, the CFDA President and CEO was met by students, school counselors, young designers, seasoned designers, stylists, fashion buyers, and many others that sought to hear from him, learn more about him, and gain insight on what’s needed to take their careers to the next level.

After a hearty introduction of his pedigree, Steven emerged from the green room in cool, navy threads, and a beautiful electric blue, handmade Guatemalan scarf.

Fashion For All’s Hannah Stoudemire and Ali Richmond wasted no time and dove right in, asking him who he was on a personal level.

Steven candidly spoke of his hearing impairment, which caused him to be super-introverted, his neurotic nature, and how he didn’t know what to wear when he first joined the CFDA.

He recalled his first encounter with FFA during New York Fashion Week: Men’s in July 2016, when a group of 12 of us stood outside the Skylight Clarkson Space from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M in all-black with our hands up in complete silence. My mind went back to how hot that day was, and how some people walked right past us without acknowledging us. Steven was gracious enough to send the NYFW team out to give us water and invite us inside if we needed to cool off. We took the water, but remained outside. He recounted how Hannah took to social media and acknowledged Steven for doing this. As a result, Steven made it a point to do a post on CFDA’s Instagram that “Black Lives Mattered both on the runway, and off the runway.”

He expressed that his greatest desire was to leave a legacy of helping people. He had determined, while in high school, that he never wanted to work in corporate America, and thus sought a career in not-for-profit organizations. He worked extensively in the area of cancer and AIDS prior to coming to CFDA. Although the CFDA is a far more glamorous setting, his core, fundamental value, and the nature as to why he got into not-for-profits, has not changed. His mission and lasting legacy is to help.

The main takeaway I left with was a snippet from a conversation he had had with CFDA Chairwoman Diane von Furstenberg after the 2016 election: “Use the strength of fashion to contribute to society.”

And indeed, Steven does just that.