Building the Heart and the Mind: An Interview With Leading Social Entrepreneur Sarah Harris

In 10 years, Sarah Harris, vice-president of Emmis Communications' Incite entity, has grown a US$7.5 million social enterprise employing 10 social entrepreneurs. Harris insists that social entrepreneurship requires a delicate balance between sustainable business practices and passion for social impact, between the heart and the mind. Learning played a key strategic role in developing her organization. "Learning by presence," involving storytelling, collaborating, and building relationship and community, serves as the basis for this learning. By expanding on this approach to examine both personal and social presence and employing accompanying approaches to learning, such as mindful and transformative learning and situated learning theory, educators can begin to address the unique complexities that social entrepreneurship presents beyond traditional business and entrepreneurial practices.