Designer Kenneth Cole to discuss mental health, activism, new film, at WashU

Designer and social activist Kenneth Cole will join WashU Public Health Dean Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, for a conversation Thursday, November 6, on mental health, social activism and related issues in an event at WashU’s Clark-Fox Forum in Hillman Hall on the Danforth Campus.

The discussion — which will be held in person and also will be available online —  will be followed with a Q&A session involving the audience. Among the topics to be discussed: how business, advocacy and public health can intersect to improve population mental health and reduce stigma.

Kenneth Cole is widely known as the founder of Kenneth Cole Productions, a global fashion brand that has long blended commerce with social activism. In addition to his successful career in design, Cole has built a reputation for leveraging his platform to address pressing public health issues, including HIV/AIDS awareness, homelessness among LGBTQIA+ youth, and mental health — areas in which stigma and access remain barriers to care.

Cole’s advocacy work is rooted in his leadership of The Mental Health Coalition, a nonprofit organization he founded to destigmatize mental health challenges and promote open dialogue.

He, his career and his work to improve life for others are the subjects of a recently released documentary film, “A MAN WITH SOLE: The Impact of Kenneth Cole.” The film has been featured at the Sundance Film Festival, the Justice Film Festival and several others. It will be the opening night film of the St. Louis International Film Festival, with a screening at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 6.

Plans are in the works for a screening of the film at WashU at a later date.

Sandro Galea is the Margaret C. Ryan Dean of the School of Public Health, the Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health, and vice provost of interdisciplinary initiatives at Washington University in St. Louis. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed literature and is a regular contributor to a range of public media, about the social causes of health, mental health, and the consequences of trauma. He previously held academic and leadership positions at Boston University, Columbia University, the University of Michigan, and the New York Academy of Medicine, and has been listed as one of the most widely cited scholars in the social sciences.

Registration for the event featuring a conversation with Kenneth Cole and Dean Galea is open; those interested can register to attend in person or virtually. See here to learn more and RSVP.

The event is sponsored by the School of Public Health and the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement.