Stars Making a Social Impact: Why & How Pediatric Dentist Misee Harris Is Helping To Change Our World
An Interview With Edward Sylvan
As a pediatric dentist, I get to meet tons of adults/parents. One of my patient’s parents shared with me that she had been unable to get a job due to her personal appearance, specifically her front tooth that was broken. I offered to fix it for her and a few weeks later she let me know that she had gotten a job.
When I realized that a simple procedure could change someone’s life, I knew that I wanted to be able to reach as many people as I could.
As a part of our series about stars who are making an important social impact, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Misee Harris.
Misee Harris first made a name for herself in 2013, launching a social media campaign to convince ABC, Bachelor/Bachelorette producer Mike Fleiss and the public to cast her as America’s very first Black Bachelorette. Misee made plenty of waves during this campaign, becoming a powerfully inspiring voice and gaining media coverage in many outlets including Time Magazine, Huffington Post, HuffPost Live, MSN, CNN, HLN, AOL, iVillage and with MSNBC’s TheGrio, Black Enterprise, MadameNoire.com, and on radio programs nationwide with headlines blaring, “Are American Audiences Ready For A Black Bachelorette?”
Beyond her experience with Hollywood, Misee Harris is a Doctor of Dental Medicine, Sports and Pediatric Dentistry and a celebrated entrepreneur. Misee’s mission is to speak out on the positive and productive depiction of Black women in the media and to communicate that anything is achievable regardless of skin color, gender or anything else that might make someone feel different, left-out or misrepresented.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you share with us the “backstory” that led you to this career path?
I grew up going to hospitals a lot. Not because I was sick or had a sick family member, but because my single mother was a nurse and often times let me go to work with her. Being in that environment definitely paved my way into the healthcare field.
I initially considered going to medical school and becoming an OBGYN but after finding out about their on-call schedule, I decided against that profession. I found that dentistry would allow me a more flexible lifestyle and still give me financial freedom. I’m so glad I picked pediatric dentistry and to become a private practitioner. This has allowed me to have the time and finances to invest in other career goals.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career? What was the lesson or take away that you took out of that story?
During my 4th year of dental school, I had several requirements needing to be met before I could graduate. One of the requirements was to complete a full set of dentures for a patient from start to finish. After months of seeing my patient once a week, I finally was ready to deliver him his new set of dentures, but there was one huge problem. He had passed away. In order to get credit for the denture, I had to ask my patient’s wife if I could deliver it to him at the funeral home. I can’t believe I asked her that! She was actually happy because she knew that would make her husband’s face look nice for the viewing. I’ll never forget them or that experience. I guess it taught me to always finish.
What would you advise a young person who wants to emulate your success?
I would advise them to try to learn something from every single person that they meet. Be a sponge. Soak in as much knowledge as you can. Everything that you need to know is easily accessible. Get used to people not understanding you. Get used to people not liking you. Always remember that you might be a “meal” but if a person is only used to a “snack”, they may not like you.
Is there a person that made a profound impact on your life? Can you share a story?
I owe everything to my mother. She’s so talented. I grew up watching her in the garden, making homemade jam, sewing, knitting, crocheting, and just being an all-around go-getter. It’s funny because she doesn’t seem to remember herself as that. I have to remind her sometimes.
How are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting causes you are working on right now?
I am so excited about the multi-specialty health center that I am opening this Summer. I named it after my grandmother. I built the Louise Hage Medical Center to provide medical and dental services to the underserved. This is definitely one of my passion projects and one that I know will be able to touch the lives of so many people.
Can you share with us the story behind why you chose to take up this particular cause?
Over the course of 10 years, I’ve witnessed so many people who are unable to seek medical and dental services due to financial restraints. This needs to change. Everyone deserves to be able to seek a healthcare provider. The plan is to plant similar facilities in other cities across the United States.
Can you share with us a story about a person who was impacted by your cause?
As a pediatric dentist, I get to meet tons of adults/parents. One of my patient’s parents shared with me that she had been unable to get a job due to her personal appearance, specifically her front tooth that was broken. I offered to fix it for her and a few weeks later she let me know that she had gotten a job. When I realized that a simple procedure could change someone’s life, I knew that I wanted to be able to reach as many people as I could.
Are there three things that individuals, society or the government can do to support you in this effort?
The most important thing is for people to spread the word. I want to make sure that people know that someone is here for them and that there is a safe place to receive healthcare.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or an example for each.
- Being a young boss is tough — You will make a lot of mistakes so be kind to yourself.
- Take a lot of vacations — I used to work, work, work until a good friend of mine told me that she only works 3 days a week and went on 5 vacations a year. Since then I cut my hours and take plenty of vacations.
- Continue learning things outside of your profession. — If you want to create multiple streams of income you must be open to learning new things. Never feel stuck in one box.
- You are not the bank. — People used to ask to borrow $10. Now they ask to borrow $10,000. I don’t let anyone borrow money. That’s the quickest way to ruin a friendship or relationship.
- Save but don’t be afraid to spend. — Invest in yourself.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Prison reform. How can we lock people up and treat them like wild animals and then release them into our normal society and expect them to survive and be good citizens? What happened to Kalief Browder should never happen to another human being again.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you explain how that was relevant in your life?
“There’s time we can waste and there’s time we must treasure, please have both with me.” — Tyler Knott Gregson
I am free and able to live my life the way that I see fit. I try to make each day count and spend time with with wonderful people. That’s why I hire employees based on their personality rather than their skills. I can teach anyone how to be a dental assistant. I can’t teach someone how to have a great personality. Personality is what counts.
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Politics, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Sophia Amorusa. She is a serial entrepreneur who I’ve been following over the past 15 years. I’d love to pick her brain and talk about business ventures.
Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was so inspiring, and we wish you continued success!
About The Interviewer: Growing up in Canada, Edward Sylvan was an unlikely candidate to make a mark on the high-powered film industry based in Hollywood. But as CEO of Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc, (SEGI) Sylvan is among a select group of less than ten Black executives who have founded, own and control a publicly traded company. Now, deeply involved in the movie business, he is providing opportunities for people of color.
In 2020, he was appointed president of the Monaco International Film Festival, and was encouraged to take the festival in a new digital direction.
Raised in Toronto, he attended York University where he studied Economics and Political Science, then went to work in finance on Bay Street, (the city’s equivalent of Wall Street). After years of handling equities trading, film tax credits, options trading and mergers and acquisitions for the film, mining and technology industries, in 2008 he decided to reorient his career fully towards the entertainment business.
With the aim of helping Los Angeles filmmakers of color who were struggling to understand how to raise capital, Sylvan wanted to provide them with ways to finance their creative endeavors.
At Sycamore Entertainment he specializes in print and advertising financing, marketing, acquisition and worldwide distribution of quality feature-length motion pictures, and is concerned with acquiring, producing and promoting films about equality, diversity and other thought provoking subject matter which will also include nonviolent storytelling.
Also in 2020, Sylvan launched SEGI TV, a free OTT streaming network built on the pillars of equality, sustainability and community which is scheduled to reach 100 million U.S household televisions and 200 million mobile devices across Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV and others.
As Executive Producer he currently has several projects in production including The Trials of Eroy Brown, a story about the prison system and how it operated in Texas, based on the best-selling book, as well as a documentary called The Making of Roll Bounce, about the 2005 coming of age film which starred rapper Bow Wow and portrays roller skating culture in 1970’s Chicago.
He sits on the Board of Directors of Uplay Canada, (United Public Leadership Academy for Youth), which prepares youth to be citizen leaders and provides opportunities for Canadian high school basketball players to advance to Division 1 schools as well as the NBA.
A former competitive go kart racer with Checkered Flag Racing Ltd, he also enjoys traveling to exotic locales. Sylvan resides in Vancouver and has two adult daughters.
Sylvan has been featured in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and has been seen on Fox Business News, CBS and NBC. Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc is headquartered in Seattle, with offices in Los Angeles and Vancouver.
Stars Making a Social Impact: Why & How Pediatric Dentist Misee Harris Is Helping To Change Our… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.