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Susan Sokolowski has more than 30 years of performance sporting goods experience, working cross-functionally between footwear, apparel and equipment in creative and strategic roles. She is a member of the 2021 class of fellows of the National Academy of Inventors. Her work is holistic in nature, where consideration of the athlete’s body form, performance, materials and styling are addressed to develop game-changing innovation solutions. She is specifically focused on issues surrounding design of products for women, children, and adaptive athletes. Susan has been internationally recognized for achievements in design innovation from Nike, The United States Olympic Committee, Vogue Magazine, Fast Company, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, Design Museum London, and Volvo. She holds over 45 U.S. patents and 65 foreign patents. A motivational coach and mentor, Susan is committed to inspiring students in product design, development and business.
Recent Media:
- 2025 Women of the Year (USA Today, Feb. 27, 2025)
- Oregon innovator in sports product design among USA TODAY Women of the Year (The Register-Guard, Feb. 27, 2025)
- How to know when it’s time to replace your running shoes (Outside Magazine, Dec. 23, 2024)
- How often should you replace your sports bra? (Outside Magazine, Oct. 31, 2024)
- Alpaca wool is my secret to staying comfy during cold-weather runs (SELF, Oct. 16, 2024)
- From corsets to singlets, the Olympics have driven the evolution of women’s sportswear (Smithsonian Magazine, July 22, 2024)
- The best leggings For women, based on rigorous testing (Forbes/Vetted, Nov. 28, 2022)
- The making of a World Cup kit: What goes into a World Cup jersey? More than you think. (The Washington Post, Nov. 18, 2022)
- Best weekender bags (Consumer Reports, April 28, 2022)
- Inclusive sportswear designer joins academy of inventors (OregonNews, Dec. 15, 2021)
- UO professor helps Old Navy streamline women's sizes (OregonNews, Oct. 8, 2021)
- Cool touch shirts can make you feel cool on hot days, but which materials work best? (The Conversation, Aug. 28, 2020)
- How to choose a cloth face mask (and avoid the long wait for it) (Marketplace, May 15, 2020)
- How to choose and wear a mask during the coronavirus pandemic (Consumer Reports, April 17, 2020)
- Making masks at home – what you need to know about how to reduce the transmission of coronavirus (The Conversation, April 16, 2020)
- Why fashion customers can’t get enough of Rothy’s sustainable shoes (Footwear News, Dec. 3, 2019)
- Female astronauts: How performance products like space suits and bras are designed to pave the way for women’s accomplishments (The Conversation, April 5, 2019)
- What’s involved in designing World Cup jerseys? (The Conversation, June 29, 2018)
- Outfitting the world’s best athletes for the Winter Olympics (The Conversation, Feb. 15, 2018)
- It's Time to Pull the Baseball Uniform into the 21st Century (Racked, April 6, 2017)
- Playing on the Team: Sports Branding and Design (Adobe Creative Cloud Blog, Feb. 2, 2017)
- cUriOus: Students Designing Sports Gear (Jefferson Public Radio, Nov. 14, 2016)