Fashion Scholarship Fund Adds Five Women to Its Board

The Fashion Scholarship Fund has appointed five women to its board of governors, the group that oversees the U.S. nonprofit, WWD reported on 4 November 2026.

The new members are Paula Fallowfield, chief human resources officer of LVMH Americas, the U.S. arm of the French luxury group LVMH. Nina Flood, executive vice president and global brand president of Timberland, joins the board. So does Joy Herfel-Cronin, group president of wholesale North America at Ralph Lauren, which means the company's business of selling to shops that resell its clothes. Toretha McGuire, chief people officer of Fanatics, and Rachna Shah, global chief executive of KCD, complete the group.

The fund was set up in 1937 to help students who want careers in fashion. It supports careers in areas such as business strategy, design and product development, marketing and merchandising. Each year it provides more than USD 1.9 million to 160 students chosen from a network of 75 colleges and universities. It has supported more than 3,100 alumni.

The board has grown before. Virgil Abloh, the founder and chief creative director of Off-White, joined the board in October 2020, when it had 38 existing members, according to WWD's report from that time. Mike Alic continues to serve on the board as an industry consultant.

Earlier this year, the fund's programme also widened. VF and the VF Foundation said in July 2026 that they had expanded their partnership with the fund to bring Community College Scholars on both the West and East coasts into the programme, giving students at two-year colleges access to the scholarship and career exposure.

The fund's calendar follows a set rhythm. More than 750 scholars, alumni, industry leaders, designers and influencers gathered in New York City to celebrate the Class of 2026. At that event, four finalists competed for the Chairman's Award, which carries a prize of USD 25,000 and is the organisation's highest honour of the year.

The board appointments mean five executives from some of the largest names in fashion, luxury, retail and sport now sit on the group that guides the scholarships. Each of them works in a different part of the business, from brand management to people operations, and the fund's students will move into all of those areas.