Sandhya Nankani
Sandhya Nankani is the Founder of Literary Safari, a learning and literacy company launching an indie app development studio committed to creating children’s educational apps that celebrate diversity, storytelling, and global understanding while supporting 21st century skills such as problem solving, creativity, and social-emotional learning.
Kabir Seth
Kabir Seth has worked across a variety of industries including children’s media. As a fan of mythology and adventure stories, Kabir has created a digital app for kids based on Indian mythology as well as Storied Myth, an interactive augmented reality app that combined physical tools with an ongoing digital story
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Amanda Armstrong
Amanda Armstrong, M.S., is pursuing her doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction from New Mexico State University. Her research interests include the intersection of early childhood education, critical pedagogies, and educational technology/gaming.
Sharon Bilman
Sharon Bilman is the Cofounder of Monkey Bar Collective. A game designer and writer for children’s media, she learned the ropes at Black Hammer Production. At Scholastic, she became thoroughly versed in children’s media from concept to completion.
Erica Branch-Ridley
Erica Branch-Ridley is an Emmy Award-winning Vice-President and Executive Producer who oversees the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network’s Early Learning Collaborative’s (ELC) creative direction and guides transmedia production for apps, web, and non-digital materials. Erica comes to ELC from Sesame Workshop.
Kevin Clark, Ph.D.
Kevin Clark is a professor of Learning Technologies and the Founding Director of the Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity at George Mason University. His research focuses on the role of interactive and digital media in education, broadening participation in STEM, and issues of diversity in children’s media.
Briana Ellerbe
Briana Ellerbe is doctoral student at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and formerly Research Manager at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. She hopes to contribute to research around children and communities of color, and to create media for children that serve as potential tools for education and equity.
Ed Greene
Ed Greene is the Vice President, Partnerships and Community Outreach at the Hispanic Information Telecommunications Network (HITN). Prior, Ed was an adviser to Cito, The Netherlands’ Piramide Approach to Early Learning and Director of International Outreach for Sesame Workshop.
Claudia Haines
As a youth services librarian in Homer, Alaska, Claudia Haines connects children and their families with high quality media of all kinds that both reflect their diverse experiences and offer them a window into worlds beyond their own. She also trains other children's librarians in the use of new media to support literacy.
Amy Kraft
Amy Kraft is the Cofounder of Monkey Bar Collective where she specializes in game design, content writing, producing, and product strategy. She began her career as a producer at Scholastic, and has since consulted with companies including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Spin Master, Microsoft, Kyowon, Curriculum Associates, Barnes and Noble, Speakaboos, and Leap Frog.
Marianne Martens, Ph.D.
Marianne Martens, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor at Kent State University’s School of Library and Information Science (SLIS). Her research and teaching encompass the interconnected fields of youth services librarianship and publishing, including historical, contemporary, and international perspectives. She is co-chair of ALSC's Notable Children's Digital Media committee. Previously, Martens worked in children’s publishing.
J Elizabeth Mills
J. Elizabeth Mills is a PhD Candidate at the University of Washington Information School, studying how culture and diversity can influence and enhance the design process of library programs for young children. Mills worked previously as a children’s book editor at Scholastic Inc. and Cranium Inc., and she is a published author. Visit jemillsresearch.weebly.com to learn more. Mills is the social media manager for KIDMAP.
Advisors
Michael Levine – Founder and Executive Director, Joan Ganz Cooney Center @mlevine_jgcc
Olivia Morgan – Vice President, Common Sense Media @commonsense
Susanna Pollock – President, Games for Change @SusannaPollack
Collaborators
Logo & Illustration: Sarah Vanbelle
Original Music for Diversity Sauce Podcast: Kamala Sankaram
Podcast Transcription: Kayla Fedeson
Research & Partnerships: Catherine Jhee, Alexia Raynal, Sadaf Sajwani, Lili Toutounas (Joan Ganz Cooney Center)