How a WIFI Grant Helped Yeseily Pruneda Transition to Footwear Design at Pentland Brands

Yeseily Pruneda is a Hardgoods Designer for Speedo at Pentland Brands. Last year she completed a footwear manufacturing workshop with Arsutoria, where she learned the fundamentals of shoemaking. 

When Yeseily Pruneda first joined Pentland Brands, she didn’t imagine herself designing shoes. With a background in apparel design and textiles from Washington State University, her career began on Speedo’s soft goods team, where she worked on swimwear and apparel. 

But within a few years, an opportunity opened on the Speedo hard goods design team, and she seized the chance to pivot her career. 

“Speedo has such a good work culture and environment, and all the cross-functional teams always work well together,” Yeseily told Two Ten in an interview. “I went from a soft goods designer to the hard goods team as a product developer. And that was very new to me. I felt like I didn't know anything about hard goods, because I was so into apparel.” 

In her new role, Yeseily focused on developing Speedo’s non-apparel products like footwear, sunglasses, and swim caps. Around that time, she discovered the Two Ten Footwear Foundation’s upskilling grant for women in the footwear industry. Excited to deepen her knowledge, she applied and received the grant, which helped her attend Arsutoria’s Footwear Manufacturing Workshop in September of 2024. 

“As a new footwear designer, the program was instrumental in bridging the knowledge gap between apparel and footwear design,” Yeseily said. “I learned about footwear design principles, materials, manufacturing processes and industry trends. I also learned how to network with people in that space, and I got to meet other designers and people in the industry.” 

Looking ahead, Yeseily sees herself growing her expertise in the hard goods sector and continuing to build the footwear category at Speedo. 

“I know that footwear here is very small, but we have so much potential,” she said. “And I feel like there's a small niche of swimwear shoes and we have the potential to grow that.” 

She’s also open to other educational opportunities that will allow her to continue learning and evolving as a footwear designer. For Yeseily, the WIFI grant has been a key part of that journey. 

“I'm now better equipped to drive innovative designs and contribute to the footwear industry,” Yeseily said. “This grant is more than a grant. It's an investment in your personal growth and your professional growth as well.”