Pittsburgh, PA, July 13, 2022 – Fred Rogers Productions, the award-winning children’s media organization behind multiple well-loved, Emmy®-winning PBS KIDS series, has named Gabrielle Howard to the newly created position of Creative Development Manager. In her new role, Howard will manage the company’s growing portfolio of IP in development. She will report to Ellen Doherty, Chief Creative Officer.
“Gabrielle is a terrific addition to our team. She knows the kids industry, and has a great eye for talent,” said Doherty. ”I look forward to working with her to find and generate even more extraordinary content for young viewers.”
“I’m over the moon to join Fred Rogers Productions, a company that is so well known and respected for quality programming that serves the needs of children and their families,” said Howard. “I’m excited to dive in and help build a programming slate of content that resonates with current fans and attracts many new ones, too.”
In addition to managing the company’s production slate, Howard will seek out new collaborators and projects that she will help guide through the development process.
Prior to joining Fred Rogers Productions, Howard was a media consultant and advisor on podcast development and social media strategy who developed original concepts for the web and television. She worked for The N, later named TeenNick, from MTV Networks, where she developed live-action and animated properties with production companies including Endemol and Klasky Csupo. Howard started her career at Sesame Workshop, where she headed the children’s casting department for the Emmy® Award-winning Sesame Street and later worked for J.P. Kids, producer of the hit series, The Famous Jett Jackson. She holds a B.A. from the University of South Carolina and received a Podcast Certificate from The Made in NY Media Center by IFP.
About Fred Rogers Productions
Fred Rogers Productions was founded by Fred Rogers in 1971 as the non-profit producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for PBS. In the years that followed, it created hundreds of episodes of this much-loved program and extended Fred’s values and approach to other efforts in promoting children’s social, emotional, and behavioral health while supporting parents, caregivers, teachers, and other professionals in their work with children. Fred Rogers Productions continues to build on Fred’s legacy in innovative ways through a wide variety of media and engages new generations of children and families with his timeless wisdom. The company’s highly rated children’s series, including Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Peg + Cat, Odd Squad, and Through the Woods, have earned 30 Emmy® Awards among other important honors. Newly launched in 2021 on PBS KIDS is Donkey Hodie, the innovative puppet series inspired by characters from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood; and most recently Alma’s Way, an animated series created by Sonia Manzano, known to generations of children and adults as “Maria” on Sesame Street. For more information, visit www.fredrogers.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Press contacts:
Grand Communications (for Fred Rogers Productions)
Alison Grand
212-584-1133; Alison@grandcommunications.com
Laura Liebeck
845-440-7974; Laura@grandcommunications.com