These excerpts from an oral history interview with the founder of the Irving B. Harris Foundation, one of the most influential early funders of the infant-family field, emphasize the importance of promoting early childhood development as a social investment and highlights the lessons from business that Harris brought to philanthropy. Harris traces the evolution of public awareness of the importance of the first three years of life but argues that much remains to do to raise awareness and support. He identifies a strong and continuing need for recruiting, training, and supporting a diverse and professional early childhood workforce and discusses some of the key ideas that should inform early childhood professional development and support.