June 26, 2025
As Executive Director of the Virgil Abloh Foundation, Loatman expands on efforts to advance equity and inclusion for Black creatives.
Chicago-based leader Dana Loatman is carrying on the legacy of late fashion designer and Chicago native, Virgil Abloh, as she leads efforts as executive director of the Virgil Abloh Foundation.
The Foundation announced Loatman as its inaugural executive director in February, an appointment that would move the Foundation into its next phase of upholding Virgil’s commitment to support underrepresented creatives. Established by his wife, Shannon Abloh, and family, the Virgil Abloh Foundation is a creative company built to advance equity, collaboration, and inclusivity within the creative sector. Loatman’s character perfectly fits the position where she oversees the Foundation’s operations, strategic planning, and program development.
Virgil’s aim to cultivate the next generation of creators across disciplines stems from his commitment to community empowerment and innovation. As a creative herself who aspired to pursue dance, “the work is deeply, deeply personal for me,” Loatman told Black Tech, Green Money in a June 24 interview. Programs at the Foundation get students in front of opportunities to work with different collaboration partners, like Billionaire Boys Club, to ensure young creatives understand the industry’s business side before they go off to college or enter the workforce. “Virgil believed heavily in collaboration,” the New York-born creative said.
The Virgil Abloh Foundation offers a 10-month program focused on exposing 17- and 18-year-old Chicagoans from BIPOC communities and first-generation single-parent homes to transformational, hands-on, and behind-the-scenes experience. The program, which is built on Virgil’s idea that “Everything he did was for the seventeen-year-old version of himself,” offers exposure, access, and opportunity. Additionally, students are sent on a 10-day trip to Paris and London to gain experience from ateliers for major luxury brands like Louis Vuitton.
“Virgil was a multi-hyphenate. He redefined what it meant to be a creative in so many ways,” Loatman said of the renowned Off-White founder who died in 2021. “He was also a DJ, an architect, a designer, an engineer by degree, and so really redefined and reshaped what it means to be a creative.” She added, “He was the first in many places but did not want to be the last. And so that legacy for him, when you asked me what is Virgil Abloh’s legacy, it really is continuing the work that he has started to continue his story by investing in young creatives, specifically young underrepresented creatives.”
Virgil’s philanthropic efforts inspired Loatman’s passion to invest in and ensure that underrepresented communities have the same access to resources and experiences as their counterparts. As executive director, she is dedicated to expanding on the in-person experiences, bespoke programs, online programs, mentorships, partnerships, and collaborations the Foundation has already established for students.
Loatman comes to her new position as executive director of the Virgil Abloh Foundation with years of career experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Her resume spans leadership and cultural change roles that reflect Virgil’s commitment to elevating Black voices and diverse perspectives. According to LinkedIn, she’s helped secure over $100 million in investments from major companies like Apple and Nike to target racial and gender equality.
Virgil Abloh’s Postmodern Scholarship Fund and the Fashion Scholarship Fund award scholarships and grants to Black students in college and those who study fashion.
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