photo of Sara LaHayne

Sara LaHayne

Founder & CEO
Move This World

A life-long dancer and previous professional performer, Sara was a Fulbright Scholar in Bogotá, Colombia when she authored and implemented the original Move This World curriculum. Today she is the Founder & CEO of Move This World, an organization that harnesses the power of creativity to reduce fear, build trust and inspire change in communities. Move This World has trained over 300,000 individuals across four continents to address the emotional wellbeing of themselves and others in order to foster safe and supported learning environments. Move This World's social emotional learning program is currently being used in 976 classrooms across the United States.

A graduate of the University of Virginia, Sara is a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum; an American Express Ashoka Emerging Innovator; a Cordes Fellow with the Opportunity Collaboration; a Peace X Peace 2012 Women, Power, & Peace Award Winner (Generation Peace Award); the only U.S. recipient of the Youth Leader Award in the Americas by the Inter-American Development Bank Annual Board of Governors Meeting; an Ashoka Activating Empathy Award Winner; a three-time Beyond Sport Award Finalist; named a “Woman Entrepreneur” by World Resources Institute New Ventures Mexico; a Creative Community Fellow with National Arts Strategies; a StartingBloc Fellow; a Finalist Nominee Social Entrepreneur/Innovator for the Women’s Information Network 18th Annual Young Women of Achievement Award; 1 of 3 Artists Transforming the World by the Arts and Healing Network; Global Good Fund Fellow; and a Susan Schiffer Stautberg Leadership Fellow.

She has presented at conferences across 5 continents and been featured in Forbes, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Carnegie Council’s Policy Innovations, Huffington Post, Americans for the Arts, Ashoka, El Tiempo, Unrest Magazine, Whole Living Magazine, Martha Stewart Radio on SiriusXM, and the International Platform on Sport and Peace, among others.

[Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.]

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

Events featuring Sara LaHayne
Events featuring Sara LaHayne