Wigs and costumes carpeted my basement floor every day of summer vacation when I was a kid. My siblings and I rummaged through bins of old clothes and Halloween costumes to invent new characters. We’d head outside for hours, filming our own production of American Idol (frantically switching wigs to play the contestants and the judges) or producing a Barbie and G.I. Joe-scaled version of Survivor.

​

Storytelling and writing were always my passion, so when fate led me across the University of Maryland campus to the Dean’s Office to switch my major to English, I shouldn’t have been surprised. 

​

Under the mentorship of Professor Michael Olmert, I flourished. I was accepted into the English Honors Program, performed in over 20 script-in-hand performances, and became the first woman to ever write and produce a play as an honors thesis at the University of Maryland (Grasmere: A Play for Dorothy Wordsworth). I earned the Dean’s Senior Scholar Award for the College of Arts & Humanities and delivered the Commencement Address for the Department of English. I am an active advocate for preserving the English Language & Literature major at universities, and have since joined advisory panels to help undergraduate English majors leverage their creativity for success after graduation.

​

I moved to Brooklyn in July 2016 to complete my M.F.A. in Writing and Producing for Television at the TV Writers Studio. I worked a variety of odd jobs to make ends meet. Yes, I was that post-graduate English major working at a coffee shop, but I also worked as John Markus' writer's assistant, interviewed Olympic ice skaters at the Rink at Rockefeller Center, wrote restaurant reviews, walked an obscene amount of miles as a Postmates delivery person, and tutored ESL students at LIU Brooklyn. I even took a stab at stand up comedy, where I relayed my trials as a Megabus veteran. 

​

After submitting a packet of jokes to TBS, I landed a graduate fellowship with the iconic late-night show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. I became intrigued by educational comedy: content that makes each viewer laugh, think, and reflect. I decided to base my master’s thesis on the cast of characters who have been paving the way in educational comedy since 1969: The Muppets.

​

After completing my M.F.A., I joined the feature animation studio, Blue Sky Studios, where I spent two years immersed in the world of family-friendly films and learning the in's and out's of animation production. Supporting the production of Spies In Disguise (2019) and Nimona (2023) not only provided me an expert understanding of the animation pipeline, but gifted me friends and collaborators who transformed the way I view leadership, mentorship, and kindness within our industry.

 

Just before the heartbreaking acquisition that shuttered the doors to Blue Sky forever, I sought an opportunity that upheld those pillars of kindness, impact, comedy, and joy. I joined the International Social Impact team at Sesame Workshop to produce an animated series starring new and classic Sesame Street characters called Watch, Play, Learn. The show consists of 140 five-minute episodes exploring social-emotional learning, math, health & safety, and science. Watch, Play, Learn has been dubbed into 25+ languages and has already reached 35 million children. The series has been incorporated into several co-productions, including Takalani Sesame, which was nominated for the 2023 International Emmy in the category of Kids: Factual & Entertainment. My Muppet thesis had come full circle!

Alongside a team of disability consultants, education experts, and global advisors, I created a new Muppet for the series: Ameera, who uses a wheelchair and crutches due to a spinal cord injury. She’s a science wiz and natural comedian; she can command a room, lead a project, and make every friend feel comfortable. Ameera was included as an animated character in Watch, Play, Learn and then developed into a Muppet character by Henson Workshop for Ahlan Sim Sim, the Sesame series in the Middle East that has over 23 million viewers. 

​

I then produced live-action Muppet segments in collaboration with Ddhoni Chitra in Bangladesh. Together, we created Playtime with Noor & Aziz: the first and largest set of content ever made for Rohingya children. Noor & Aziz are Rohingya twin Muppets who explore the curricular topics that appear in Watch, Play, Learn. In October 2022, our team flew to Milwaukee, WI to host a screening event with the Rohingya diaspora community. Over 500 families attended. They had the opportunity to meet Noor & Aziz in Muppet form, watch episodes of Playtime with Noor & Aziz, enjoy local food and popsicles, and take art lessons with Louis Mitchell, the legendary Muppet designer.

​

Watching children engage with Noor & Aziz and seeing their parents celebrate the preservation of the Rohingya language (which is only spoken, not written) was my greatest career highlight. In February 2023, Playtime with Noor & Aziz won the 2023 Anthem Award for Special Projects. This project greatly influenced my practice of producing international content that works towards decolonizing the media landscape. It is essential to establish and foster processes of hiring experts, artists, producers, and talent in each region to ensure our content is authentically representing the needs and values of its viewers.

​

In early 2023, I joined the Sesame Emergency Task Force to develop five unscripted live-action films in Ukraine with the Ukrainian production company ESSE House. Identity Stories highlights Ukrainian culture and heritage through food, music, dance, clothing and writing. Along with dubbing all 140 Watch, Play, Learn episodes into Ukrainian, this new set of content provides a sense of belonging to Ukrainian children whose early childhood learning routine has been disrupted by the Russian invasion. This project has received global recognition and a 9 minute highlight on PBS.

​

I am now completing The Power of Play: an adult-facing series that encourages caregivers to play with their children to promote joy and brain development. This series features children and caregivers in Jordan, Bangladesh, Colombia, and South Africa, which required four different international productions. For this series I also produced on-set Muppet segments in New York with Elmo and Louie.

​

It is a privilege to know that the characters and stories I’ve created continue to make an impact long after I’ve moved onto a new project. The ability to improve someone’s well-being through storytelling, comedy and learning is a mission I’m committed to as a creative producer. My time at Sesame is coming to a close in December 2023, so I am open to new opportunities! 

​