Loralee Baron-Soong is the co-founder and executive director of SoFa Design Institute , School of Fashion and Arts. Born in Manila, Loralee Baron boasts vast professional experience in the fashion industry, especially regarding the marketing and financial aspects of the business. She has been running an online store selling women’s Ready to Wear collections on line under the brand name Duerr, and had previously developed excellent management skills while working as a brand manager and buyer for exclusive fashion brands including Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo, and Givenchy, during her collaboration with the Rustan Commercial Corporation, high-end luxury Department Store in the Philippines, from 2004 to 2007. Loralee graduated Summa Cum Laude from Istituto Marangoni with a Master Course in Fashion Brand Management. She has spent time visiting the world’s fashion capitals to learn about upcoming trends and meet with luxury brand representatives to acknowledge the ways they marketed their brands. In the belief that creativity and art must be present even in the most technical of business dealings, she is strongly committed to empowering emerging designers to grow their brands in the same standard as those abroad.