The NYU Entrepreneurial Institute will host aluma Libby Edelman as one of their keynote speakers during its annual Entrepreneurs Festival which runs March 4-5.

Edelman has over three decades of experience in the fashion industry, having held fashion editor positions at Harper’s Bazaar and Seventeen and even worked on the client side as public relations director at Calvin Klein.

Having a keen eye for the latest trends has served Edelman well; she works as the senior vice president of fashion of Sam Edelman, a brand she founded along with her designer husband of the same name.

The iconic couple began designing affordable fashion-forward footwear under the label Sam & Libby during the 1980s. The brand has since been sold, but the Edelmans recognized that the prominence of the fashion industry created a need for high-end shoes at modest prices and created Sam Edelman in 2004.

Sam Edelman has sold millions of shoes and has now expanded their brand to include apparel and accessories. Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus and Ashley Tisdale have been spotted wearing Sam Edelman footwear.

Edelman has also pursued philanthropy, and was one of the founding members of FFANY Shoes on Sale — a shoe industry fundraiser for breast cancer research and education.

In a statement, Edelman said creativity is the heart of entrepreneurship.

“Creativity always starts with a leap of faith — you need to know your story and risk everything to find a way to tell it,” Edelman said. “Believe in yourself to the extent that you never give up, no matter how many people tell you to change.”

Email Lexi Faunce and Anne Cruz at [email protected].