ChaCha Nicole Hudson is a professor of fashion design at Syracuse University. She teaches courses in fashion product development, including apparel construction, patternmaking, and draping. She lectures on entrepreneurship in fashion and design inclusivity. In this quick interview she relates how she began sewing, including being expelled from her earliest sewing class. That didn’t stop her from achieving her goals as a designer and teacher. Find out more about her work in Sewing with Threads, Episode 52.

Before joining Syracuse University, ChaCha was a professor at the University of Delaware and an instructor at Moore College of Art and Design. She was also a visiting professor at MBA Mode Institute and Charthess Fashion School, both in Ghana. ChaCha owned and ran the SEWcial Cafe, LLC, a creative co-working space for female fashion designers and crafters, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation.

ChaCha’s research focuses on business innovation in fashion and improving apparel fit for plus-size consumers. She earned her bachelor’s degree in fashion design and her master’s degree in fashion and apparel studies.