Our Leadership
The people in our neighborhood.
We need strong, forward-thinking leaders to achieve our mission of helping children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.
And we have them — a team of accomplished professionals who are all focused on one thing: helping children.
Founders & Operations
Operations Team
Sherrie Westin
President and Interim CEO
Alison Bryant
Chief Research, Education, Data and Impact Officer
Whit Higgins
Executive Vice President, Head of Global Enterprises
Danni Hill
Chief People Officer
Shadrach Kisten
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Samantha Maltin
Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing & Brand Officer
Valerie Mitchell Johnston
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Brett Robinson
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Finance, Technology, and Facilities
Hillary Strong
Chief Development Officer
Maureen Trantham
Senior Vice President, Head of Strategy and Social Impact & Philanthropy Operations
Kay Wilson Stallings
Executive Vice President, Chief Creative Development and Production Officer
Wanda Witherspoon
Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
Senior Management
Jennifer Ahearn
Senior Vice President, Global Themed, Partnerships, and Canada
Gabriela Arenas
Senior Vice President, Global Licensing and Latin America and Australia/New Zealand and Southeast Asia
Jeanette Betancourt, Ed. D.
Senior Vice President, U.S. Social Impact
Lesley Bourns
Senior Vice President, International Social Impact
Taska Carrigan
Senior Vice President of Production Management, Operations, Business Affairs, and Legal
Akimi Gibson
Senior Vice President, Multiplatform Global Education Planning & Integration
Michael Preston, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Joan Ganz Cooney Center
Rosemarie Truglio, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Curriculum and Content
International Management
Board of Trustees
Gabrielle Sulzberger
Chair – Board of Trustees, Sesame Workshop, Senior Advisor at Two Sigma and Centerbridge Partners
Sherrie Westin
President and Interim CEO, Ex Officio Trustee, Sesame Workshop
Varun Chandra
Managing Partner, Hakluyt & Company
Thasunda Brown Duckett
Chief Executive Officer, TIAA
Lee Eastman
Partner, Eastman & Eastman
Kathleen G. Elsesser
Global Chair Consumer Retail and Healthcare Groups, Investment Banking Division, Goldman Sachs
Carla Harris
Senior Client Advisor, Morgan Stanley
Frans Hijkoop
Former Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, MetLife, Inc.
Valerie Jarrett
Distinguished Senior Fellow, University of Chicago Law School
Amy Beth Jordan
Professor and Chair of Journalism and Media Studies, School of Communication and Information, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Paul Lindley OBE
Founder, Ella’s Kitchen
Jenna Mack
Film Producer
Michael G. Manasse
President and Chief Operating Officer, Peterson Management LLC
Miriam Rivera
CEO, Co-Founder and Managing Director Ulu Ventures
Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum
President Emerita, Spelman College
Ann Rubenstein Tisch
Founder and President, The Young Women’s Leadership Network
Jeffrey Weiss
Principal, Five Forty Investments
Global Advisory
Global Advisory
Gabrielle Sulzberger
Chair, Board of Trustees, Sesame Workshop
Senior Advisor at Two Sigma and Centerbridge Partners
Tom Donilon
Chairman, BlackRock Investment Institute
Former National Security Advisor to President Obama
Hosh Ibrahim
Board Director
Mo Ibrahim Foundation
Deborah Lehr
CEO and Founding Partner
Basilinna
Tsitsi Masiyiwa
Co-Founder
Higherlife Foundation
Luis Alberto Moreno
Managing Director, Allen & Co LLC
Former President, Inter-American Development Bank
Adm. Mike Mullen
17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Mary Menell Zients
Co-Founder and Chairman
Urban Alliance Foundation
Leadership Council
Leadership Council
Our Leadership Council is composed of individuals representing a variety of industries, regional perspectives, and professional expertise dedicated to Sesame Workshop’s mission. Members provide thought leadership, serve as ambassadors, and support Sesame Workshop by sharing their time, treasure, knowledge, and networks to engage the broader community.
Jason R. Graefe, Chair
Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, ISVs, Cloud Computing & AI
Microsoft
Mariam Alsikafi
Co-Founder
The Citizens Archive
Jenna Arnold
Author, Activist and Entrepreneur
Erica Blob
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer
Brighton Park Capital
Irene Hong Edwards
Principal and Head of Investor Relations
Lovell Minnick Partners
Tyler Lewis
CFO and COO of Pinky Promise Films
Sarah Richardson
Associate
Greenberg Traurig
Florence Ann Romano
Founder and CEO
Kindred Content
Hilary Scott
Adjunct Faculty at Lake Forest College
UNICEF USA’s Midwest Regional Board of Directors
Anita Tandon
Vice President, Marketing
Ohana Real Estate Investors
