Tag Archives: alumni

In my 12 years at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center—from 2008 to 2020—I developed the research chops and professional network required to do what I do now as a program director at the National Science Foundation. But what I’m most grateful to the Cooney Center for, and what I believe made me who I am today, are the people I worked with on the fourth floor of 1900 Broadway. These people were family to me. They’re still family to me.…

It was December 2013. I was finishing my master’s program in Media Design for Learning at NYU when one of my professors told me about a position at Sesame Workshop that, according to him, had my name all over it. Soon, three more people shared the same position with me, saying it “would be a perfect fit.” The position was for a bilingual qualitative researcher with professional experience working with young children to work on the Families and Media Initiative…

Jenny Ng was at the Cooney Center as an administrative coordinator in 2019. She’s currently a project manager at Noggin.   I am a mom to three young children and a proud alumna of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center! I had the great opportunity to join the team in June 2019. Although I am no longer at Sesame Workshop, it was a pivotal moment in restarting my career growth and in reigniting my sense of self within a team –…

Sarah Vaala was a Cooney Center Research Fellow from 2011-2012, and the author of Aprendiendo Juntos (Learning Together): Synthesis of a cross-sectorial convening on Hispanic-Latino families and digital technologies.    My husband and kids know that the metal Elmo water bottle in our kitchen cabinet is off-limits. “You’d better ask Sarah before you use that,” I have heard my husband caution grandparents and other visitors. The paint is nicked and it’s a little dented after 12 years, but when I…

​​Do you remember 2007? It’s a year that sparked a massive transformation in technology. Yes, there have been mobile phones since the 1970s— and many of us remember our Motorola Razrs or Blackberries with fondness. But in 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone, followed quickly by Google’s Android operating system and Amazon’s Kindle. These devices and operating systems unleashed a powerful wave of digital media designed for children. Today’s 15-year-olds have never experienced a life without smartphones, streaming music and video…

Lili Toutounas was in charge of keeping everything organized and running while she was at the Cooney Center. And while people have confused her for a stern British lady while on the phone, she’s not nearly as old as she claims below.   I like to say that I have spanned three decades of my life at Sesame Workshop.  It all started in 2010. I had just returned from living abroad for several years and was looking for a job…

Carly Shuler authored several reports, including D is for Digital, Pockets of Potential, and  Learning: Is there an app for that? during her time with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center from 2007-2012.   The Cooney Center didn’t just play a role in shaping my career—the term isn’t strong enough. The Cooney Center incubated my career. My company. The 50 people who work for Hoot, the 900 teachers in our teacher network, and the thousands of kids we work with. Our impact…

Olivia Thomas was one of the winners of the National STEM Video Game Challenge (2015-16). Now studying computer science and games, interactive media, and mobile development at Boise State University, Olivia recently shared her experience with the STEM Challenge in the “Youth-to-Industry Pipeline: How Challenges and Game Jams Create Career Pathways” panel at the 2017 Games for Change Festival in New York City.  When I was younger, I either wanted to be a video game designer or an entomologist. Then I grew…