Tell us about yourself and how your career led you to work in children’s television.
I have always loved film and television, and in college I started thinking that I wanted to write for kids and families. At that time, there weren’t a lot of children’s media courses though, so I got my first job as a receptionist at an animation house called Jumbo Pictures. While I sat at that desk, I read as many kids’ television scripts that I could get my hands on. I was eventually promoted to be a production assistant on a show called Stanley. After sitting in on meetings and observing how scripts were created and broken down, I submitted story pitches, a spec, and soon started writing for the show! From there, I became the script coordinator and got more and more freelance gigs, working with incredible creators, artists, directors, researchers and advisors.
Describe your role on “Daniel Tiger Visits Someplace Else”.
I’ve been a writer and then head writer for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood for the past 10 years. I’ve been so fortunate to write for Donkey Hodie, too. Since I’m familiar with both shows, as well as the incredible teams at Fred Rogers Productions, Spiffy pictures, and PBS, I was thrilled that I was asked to write this very special episode!
What was special about writing this crossover episode? Any special considerations?
Donkey Hodie and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood both carry on the legacy of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. They have strong social-emotional curriculums, but they are very unique shows with different pacing, tone and rules. The trickiest part about writing this episode was to make sure it felt like a Donkey Hodie episode, while also keeping Daniel’s character and actions true to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. It was so helpful to have teams from both shows looking at the scripts, making notes and suggestions. I think we struck just the right balance of Donkey and Daniel!
What was your favorite TV show when you were growing up?
Of course, I loved Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, but I was also a huge Smurfs fan. They were simple, silly stories. Each Smurf’s personality was super-clear, and of course Gargamel was the BEST cartoon villain! He was the perfect bumbling bad guy who added lots of drama to every episode.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
It’s a running joke in my family that I’m a “joiner.” I recently took an adult/beginner tap and jazz class (with a recital!); I love karaoke; I crochet; I recently got into gardening; I like to travel; and I love supporting my kids in their sports and school activities.
Community service is important to me, so I also do a lot of volunteering. I’ve been a Children’s Media Association mentor and a Fred Rogers Productions Writers’ Neighborhood mentor. I’m the secretary for my children’s school’s booster club. I work with our backpack program where we bag up groceries so kids have food over the weekends when there aren’t free school breakfasts and lunches. I am also a “literacy at lunch mentor” where I get to read to an elementary school student every week in the hopes of fostering a love of reading. I like to stay busy!