
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
Chief Executive Officer

Aaron Bisman
Senior Vice President of Marketing

Lesley Bourns
Senior Vice President, International Social Impact

Joseph Giraldi
Chief Operating Officer

Whit Higgins
Executive Vice President, Head of Global Enterprises

Danni Hill
Chief People Officer

Shadrach Kisten
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

Valerie Mitchell Johnston
Executive Vice President and General Counsel

Brett Robinson
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Finance, Technology, and Facilities

Hallie Ruvin
Senior Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs

Hillary Strong
Chief Development Officer

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

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

Shah Alam
Managing Director, Sesame Workshop Bangladesh

Ali Dhahir Ali
Chief of Party, Iraq

Alvin Fu
Vice President and General Manager, Greater China

Bernhard Gloeggler
Vice President and General Manager, Sesame Workshop Europe

Sonali Khan
Managing Director, India

Manabu Nagaoka
Vice President, General Manager, and Executive Producer, Japan, and Head of Sesame Street English

Onyi Nwaneri
Managing Director, South Africa
Board of Trustees

Gabrielle Sulzberger
Chair – Board of Trustees, Sesame Workshop, Senior Advisor at Two Sigma and Centerbridge Partners

Sherrie Westin
Chief Executive Officer, Trustee,
Sesame Workshop

Stephen J. Davis
Chief Executive Officer, Cowrie Entertainment

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

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

