Children’s Media Career Symposium 2023

Mar 28, 2023

Missed the 2023 Symposium? Watch the full event here.

The fifth annual Children’s Media Career Symposium took place on April 13, 2023.

Are you… 

Considering a career in media or a career focused on children?  

Have fond memories of watching Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Sesame Street? 

Are inspired to create great content for children and youth, including podcasts, video games, television, YouTube channels and more?
Never knew you could combine those interests into one career?  

This event is for you!  

Meet leaders from the industry.  Learn about trends in production, marketing, research, writing and more in the children’s media industry. 

Get tips for starting your career. 

Network with industry leaders. 

The evening will include two panel discussions, plus time for Q&A and networking.  

And did we mention refreshments? 

The event is free, but you must register to attend.  The event is open to all– Temple students, faculty, administration, alumni, students from other universities, and the community. 

Panelists

You’ll have an opportunity to hear from (and network with) these incredible speakers:

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Anne Lund | Senior Director, Curriculum and Content | PBS Kids | https://pbskids.org/

Anne Lund is Senior Director of Content and Curriculum for PBS KIDS and is part of the Learning & Research Team. In this role, she helps set and shape the curriculum priorities and strategy for PBS KIDS and is the curriculum point-person for the Ready To Learn grant. Lund provides curricular guidance on various series, reviewing content across media platforms, including television, web, mobile, tablet and early learning and engagement programs, to ensure the curriculum is clearly integrated across platforms. She works closely with content producers and advisors to ensure that the content and curriculum accurately reflects a show’s premise and learning objectives. Lund has spent years in children’s media specializing in educational curriculum development and media research. Before PBS KIDS, Lund worked with media outlets and research groups, such as Nick, Jr., Sesame Workshop and Disney Channel. She also spent time as an elementary school teacher and preschool program director. Lund earned a BA in Psychobiology from Swarthmore College and a Master’s in Developmental Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  

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David Kleeman | Senior Vice President, Global Trends | Dubit Limited | https://new.dubitlimited.com/

Strategist, analyst, author, speaker, connector, David Kleeman has led the children’s media industry in developing sustainable, child-friendly practices for more than 35 years. He began this work as president of the American Center for Children and Media and is now Senior Vice President of Global Trends for Dubit, a strategy/research consultancy and metaverse studio. When he began this work, “children’s media” meant television. Today, he is fascinated by, and passionate about, kids’ wide range of possibilities for entertainment, engagement, play and learning. David uses research, insights and experience to show that much may change, but children’s developmental path and needs remain constant. David is advisory board chair to the international children’s TV festival PRIX JEUNESSE, on the board of the Children’s Media Association and the Advisory Board of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. He was a Senior Fellow of the Fred Rogers Center Board Vice President for the National Association for Media Literacy Education. David looks worldwide for best practices in children’s entertainment and learning. He has spoken (and, more important, listened!) on six continents and writes extensively for varied audiences.

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Caitlin Corkery | Senior Manager Series Production | WHYY Public Television | https://whyy.org/for-kids/

Caitlin Corkery is the Senior Manager of Series Production at Philadelphia PBS affiliate, WHYY, where she is currently overseeing the production of two original children’s programs (Albie’s Elevator and The Infinite Art Hunt) debuting this summer. Previously, she was the lead producer on the local restaurant review show Check, Please! Philly and developed WHYY’s first digital series, Delishtory. She wrote for the local theater company Tribe of Fools including the 2018 Barrymore-nominated Fishtown and hosts the storytelling event, The Moth in Philadelphia. 

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Jodi Nussbaum | Chief Operational Tinkerer | Tinkercast | https://tinkercast.com/

Jodi Nussbaum is an Emmy Award Winning executive producer and Tinkercast’s Chief Operational Tinkerer leading the day-to-day operations on all Tinkercast productions across all platforms while growing and scaling the organization. For over two decades Jodi was a senior executive at Sesame Workshop where she led international teams and balanced educational programmatic excellence with the financial and operational realities necessary to achieve project goals. Just prior to joining Tinkercast in 2022, Jodi was the Vice President of Special Projects for Sesame Workshop where she oversaw more than two dozen domestic media projects simultaneously, managing teams, creating
road maps, budgets, and schedules to keep initiatives on track while honoring the creative process and ensuring an end-product that supported the company’s brand and mission. Jodi’s passion for leading teams that create meaningful stories and characters that not only entertain but address critical issues for families around the globe has been her NorthStar for the last three decades. She and her husband live in New Jersey and will travel anywhere at the drop of a hat.

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Rosemarie Truglio, PhD | Senior Vice President, Curriculum and Content | Sesame Workshop | https://sesameworkshop.org/

Rosemarie T. Truglio, SVP of Curriculum and Content at Sesame Workshop, is responsible for the development of Sesame Street’s curriculum and oversees content development across platforms. She also oversees the curriculum development for all new show production, including Mecha Builders, Esme & Roy, Helpsters, and Ghostwriter. Previously, she managed an interdisciplinary global content team responsible for all global co-productions. From 1997 to 2013, she oversaw all educational research pertaining to program development. Before joining Sesame Workshop in 1997, she was an Assistant Professor of Communication and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Truglio has written numerous articles and presented her work at national and international conferences. Her current book is Ready for School! A Parent’s Guide to Playful Learning for Children Ages 2 to 5. Additionally, she is co-editor of “G is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street”. Dr. Truglio has appeared on numerous network, cable, and radio programs and has been interviewed by reporters from a variety of national and international news agencies. Dr. Truglio received a Ph.D. in Developmental and Child Psychology from the University of Kansas, and a B.A in Psychology from Douglass College, Rutgers University.  She received distinguished alumni awards from Douglass College (2005), University of Kansas (2013), Rutgers University (2014), the University of Kansas Women’s Hall of Fame (2015), and the Teachers College Medal for Distinguished Service (2022)   

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Rick Fernandes | Senior Director | Original Series Noggin | Paramount | https://www.noggin.com/paramountplus/

Richard is Senior Director, Original Series Noggin, Paramount. He oversees a  team of creatives in Animation, Live Action, and Interactive to deliver entertaining and humorous  research driven educational content. A sample of  Richard’s credits includes Sesame Street, Barefoot Contessa (Pilot), Bear in the Big Blue House, 25th  Anniversary of Nature, E! Oscar from the Red Carpet, and the quadruple-platinum We are the Laurie  Berkner Band DVD. His achievements include three Emmy awards for directing and 9 Emmy  nominations for directing, 2 for producing, and 4 for editing. Prior to his position at Noggin he served as Executive Director of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and  Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College (FRC.) and as Executive Director of Original Production and Development and  Executive Director of General Entertainment for Turner Broadcasting Asia Pacific. Based in Hong Kong,  He reported to the Chief Content Officer and the Managing Director of South East Asia (MDSEA) and  led a team of creatives to create programming for Turner’s entertainment and niche channels in India,  Japan, and Korea. He oversaw multimillion-dollar budgets in multiple currencies and, in his five years,  was responsible for thousands of hours of original productions (Live action and Animation.) His teams  created content in multiple genres, from Japanese subculture documentaries to children’s science  series. In his role with Turner’s MDSEA, he collaborated with the Business Development, Research, and Ad Sales teams to create new network partnerships in the Philippines and Indonesia. Currently, He travels between the New York and Los Angeles offices of Noggin where his teams are based.

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Courtney Wong Chin | Director of Learning Insights & Design at Noggin | Paramount | https://www.noggin.com/paramountplus/

Courtney Wong Chin is Director of Learning Insights & Design at Noggin, Nickelodeon’s interactive learning platform, leading research across interactive and video content to ensure that materials are created with the highest potential for measurable learning. She works closely with content creators, curriculum advisors, and kid experts (playtesting participants!) to guide content development and inform impact evaluation work. She has spent 12 years conducting educational media and technology user-experience research with children, parents and educators. Previously, she served as director of content research and evaluation at Sesame Workshop where she led research for numerous domestic and international shows, games, apps, eBooks, and podcasts. Courtney earned a B.A. in Music-Psychology from Barnard College and M.A. in Childhood and Youth Studies from the City University of New York Graduate Center.

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Karen Martin | Vice President of Programming | Children’s Media Association | https://childrensmediaassociation.org

Karen Martin is a highly accomplished Executive Producer and partner at HOThead Creative, with a passion for bringing stories to life. She has worked on a range of projects including podcasts (including a 2023 Ambie nominee for WGBH/PBS Kids Pinkalicious) Nickelodeon, Highlights Hangout, Fortune 500 company videos and animations, commercials, interstitials and series. She is also the founder of SH!NE Animation, which partnered with NYC’s after-school programs to encourage children to create and share their stories through animation. Karen has an impressive portfolio of work, having been the Executive Producer and Co-host of the lifestyle podcast GUSH, featuring interviews with celebrities Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), and Vicki Lawrence (The Cool Kids). She is also a board member for The New Jersey Hall of Fame and has produced NJ.com interviews for the NJ Hall of Fame Annual Award Shows, which has honored some of the biggest names in music, literature, sports, and media including astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly, Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Wyclef Jean, Gloria Gaynor, Stevie Van Zandt, Carli Lloyd, Harlan Coben, Anna Quindlen and Steve Forbes. Throughout her career, Karen has made significant contributions to the television industry, including playing an integral role in the launch of the Oxygen Network and the rollout of the innovative FX Network. Her impressive list of clients includes major networks such as ABC, MTV, Sony, A&E, CNN, and Lifetime.

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Gallery

Take a look at our 2022 Symposium to see past participants and discussions:

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