DR. LEWIS BERNSTEIN
Executive Producer
Dr. Lewis Bernstein has been a part of Sesame Workshop for nearly 30 years. Bernstein is now in his third year as the Executive Producer of the nonprofit organization's most beloved and well-known series, Sesame Street. This past season, Sesame Street's 35th, Bernstein oversaw the opening special entitled: "The Street We Live On," that included classic Sesame Street moments from its illustrious 35 year history and told a charming story from Elmo's point of view. Along with being nominated for two prime time Emmy's, the show won 6 more Daytime Emmy's, including Outstanding Preschool series, bringing Sesame Street's impressive total to 97. In the previous season, under Bernstein's direction, Sesame Street transformed its magazine format to tell exceptional, uninterrupted, narrative stories. In addition, "Global Grover" a segment teaching American children to respect the diversity of children from all over the world, was added. That same year Sesame Street, was awarded the Producer's Guild of America's Celebration of Diversity Award. Formerly Vice President of Global Sesame Street Productions, Bernstein has been integral to the success of the children's series internationally, training production teams from France, Spain, Holland, Germany, Kuwait and Israel to develop their own versions of the program. Prior to his role as Vice President, Bernstein served as Executive Producer for Sesame English, a television series broadcast in China, Japan, and throughout Asia and Europe, that teaches conversational English. In addition, he was responsible for spearheading Rechov Sumsum/Shara'a Simsim, the Israeli/Palestinian version of Sesame Street which attempted to teach tolerance and respect even in the midst of conflict. He served as the series Executive Producer. Bernstein's association with Sesame Street began in 1972 when he came on board as Director of Research working alongside Jim Henson and Jon Stone to integrate entertainment and education. Bernstein holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University in Communications Research, an M.A. from Hebrew University in Communications, and a B.A. from Queens College, CUNY, in Psychology.
ROSEMARIE T. TRUGLIO, Ph.D.
Vice President of Research and Education
Rosemarie T. Truglio, Ph.D. assesses the role of television in the socialization and education of children. This research has been the focus of her career. During her seven years with Sesame Street, she has helped to ensure that the creative process always embraces the major curriculum points in a safe, sensitive, responsible and age-appropriate manner. Dr. Truglio is a widely published expert on child development, whose articles appear in child and developmental psychology journals. In 2001, she co-edited G is for Growing: 30 Years of Research on Sesame Street & Children with Sholly Fisch. A former Assistant Professor of Communication and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, Dr. Truglio also serves on the Advisory Board of the Children's Digital Media Center, Alliance for a Media Literate America and The Council on Excellence in Children's Media at Annenberg School of Communication.
ANNA E. HOUSLEY-JUSTER
Assistant Content Director
Anna E. Housley-Juster has been a part of the Education and Research team at Sesame Workshop for over four years. She currently serves as Assistant Content Director where she writes the curriculum for Sesame Street and oversees content for the Sesame Street brand. Ms. Housley-Juster works closely with producers and writers to ensure that the curriculum objectives are effectively incorporated into all aspects of Sesame Street. She creates and reviews content across the Sesame Street brand to ensure that multiple media products including the magazine, books, CD-ROMs, on-line games, and interactive toys are educational, age-appropriate, and fun for young children. In addition, Ms. Housley-Juster writes parent information, which is included on products in order to extend the learning and foster interaction between children and their caregivers. Ms. Housley-Juster has her Masters degree in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College at Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University in both Child Development and English. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education at New York University. Ms. Housley-Juster is a certified Pre-K through 3rd grade teacher and taught Head Start before beginning graduate school. Although she has worked on a variety of curriculum development projects, Ms. Housley-Juster has expertise in the development of age-appropriate math curriculum for preschoolers and kindergartners, and she has conducted extensive research into young children's understanding of math concepts in everyday life.
CAROL-LYNN PARENTE
Senior Producer
Carol-Lynn Parente has been with Sesame Workshop for over 16 years. Her contribution as Senior Producer of the series has earned her five Emmy Awards. She spearheaded the creation of the renowned Sesame Street segment "Elmo's World" and has been a driving force in its development and success. In addition, she produced the home video Kids' Favorite Songs 2 and was Supervising Producer for two specials, Elmo's World: Wild Wild West and Elmo's World: Happy Holidays. Her current efforts are focused on designing new formats for the Sesame Street series and leading the creative vision of the show in its 36th year.
KAREN IALACCI
Coordinating Producer
Karen Ialacci has over 15 years of experience in television production with Sesame Workshop as well as other production companies. Karen's career has been highlighted by winning four Emmy awards, as well as a Primetime Emmy nomination in recognition of her contributions to the Sesame Street series. She has performed in the capacities of Coordinating Producer and Line Producer for the series and in various other projects produced by the Workshop, including Sesame Street home video titles and the Emmy award winning series, Square One TV. As Producer, she has been an instrumental force in the redesigning of the domestic Sesame Street series and, subsequently, the design and re-design of the acclaimed segment, "Elmo's World." In addition, she oversees all advances in technological aspects of the series and studio production, location and remote shooting. Karen holds a B.A. in Communication Arts from the New York Institute of Technology, where she graduated cum laude.
MELISSA DINO
Producer
Melissa Dino has been with Sesame Workshop for over 12 years and has won five Emmy Awards for her contributions as Producer of Sesame Street. She has also been a Producer for numerous "Elmo's World" and Sesame Street home video titles including Kid's Favorite Songs 2, which was the winner of a Telly Award. Melissa is integrally involved in both pre-production and studio production, supervising script production and writing assignments, show scheduling and the child talent department. As the producer assigned to the "Global Grover" segment, she chooses and commissions films internationally for the segment that highlight the everyday lives of children all over the world.
TIM CARTER
Co-Producer
Tim Carter has worked on the Sesame Street team for over 16 years. He currently manages the commissioning of all animation and live-action films for the show as well as oversees the overall show layout. In addition, he supervises various Sesame audio mixes, handles the editing of special Sesame Street projects and was credited as Associate Director for Elmo's World: Happy Holidays, Kids' Favorite Songs, and several other Sesame Street home videos. Tim received his first Emmy nomination and win this past year as Co-Producer when Sesame was named Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series. Tim has a background in education and previously taught in a school for children with special needs in Queens.
LOU BERGER
Head Writer
Lou Berger is celebrating his 16th year with Sesame Street and his eighth year as Head Writer. An alumnus of New York's High School for the Performing Arts, he wrote, directed and performed in his senior class show in 1968, then went on to write and star in Show on the Road for PBS. Berger was head writer for Pinwheel, Nickelodeon's first show for children, and was one of two writers that helped launch Reading Rainbow in the early 1980s. He also was playwright in residence at Williamstown for the premiere of Hawthorne Country, his drama starring Richard Thomas. A nine-time Emmy Award winner, Berger wrote Sesame Street Stays Up Late, Sesame Workshop's primetime New Year's special, and was Supervising Producer and Writer for Nickelodeon's The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. His musical, Wild Boy, for which he wrote the book, had its world premiere at The Carlsen Center in Kansas. Most recently, Lou co-wrote, with Judy Freudberg, the primetime special, "Sesame Street Presents: The Street We Live On," which was nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Children's Program. He wrote the lyrics for the special's song, "The Street I Live On," which was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy.
JUDY FREUDBERG
Head Writer
Judy Freudberg has been writing for Sesame Street since 1975. One of the creators and developers of "Elmo's World," she now serves as Head Writer for the popular segment. Freudberg collaborated with Tony Geiss on Sesame Street's first feature film, Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird as well as The Land Before Time and An American Tail, two feature animation films for Stephen Spielberg. She also co-wrote the script for the home video Elmo's World: Wild Wild West with Molly Boylan. Most recently Judy co-wrote, with Lou Berger, the primetime special, "Sesame Street Presents: The Street We Live On," which was nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Children's Program.
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