Until recently, Katrin Elsemann was the Managing Director of the German social entrepreneurship network, SEND and the co-founder of two social enterprises. SEND was founded in order to increase communication and collaboration between social entrepreneurs as well as to build bridges with actors outside the social entrepreneurship scene, aiming to improve the general ecosystem for social enterprises in Germany.

During her time in SEND, Katrin has led a successful social innovation advocacy campaign with German political leaders which was critical in putting social innovation onto Germany’s national agenda. Katrin shares her insights on working with political leaders across various ideological spectrums and what it takes to create a successful advocacy campaign for fostering a national social innovation ecosystem.