Member Spotlight: A Conversation with English Sall

Rooted in Innovation, Grounded in Nature

Based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, English Sall is a dynamic force across multiple domains—entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and motherhood. As the CEO of a tech company focused on advanced search and information retrieval, she leads in a fast-paced digital environment while balancing her role on the board of the Sall Family Foundation and several global development organizations. At home, she and her husband are raising four children—two sons and two daughters—and are learning the art of land stewardship on a 35-acre farm, complete with beehives, goats, alpacas, native fruit trees, and ambitious soil restoration efforts.

English describes her life as a daily rotation of hats—from founder to farmer to parent—all woven together by the central thread of creation. “The power of creating right now is really strong and powerful,” she shared, noting that cultivating land offers a grounding counterbalance to the intensity of the tech world. Farming, in a different way then startups, requires patience and surrender: “Sometimes you just can't even make a decision until six other things happen… you're a passenger to what the land will organically do.” For English, tending to the earth is not only humbling but healing, offering her a renewed sense of rhythm and perspective.

In the face of a rapidly changing world, English encourages fellow Spark members to lean into their creativity. “I can venture to guess that there's a lot of members of our community feeling just either afraid of the ambiguity or frustrated by the complexity on the horizon,” she said. Her advice? Keep building. Whether it's businesses, foundations, families, or farms, “creating something that lasts” is an act of courage. In her words, it may not always feel easy—but it’s always worth it.