Sesame Workshop Promotes Erica Branch-Ridley

Press release from Sesame Workshop:

New York, NY -- Sesame Workshop [1], the non-profit educational organization behind Sesame Street [2], has promoted Erica Branch-Ridley to Vice President, Executive in Charge of Production for Sesame Learning.  In addition to focusing on the intersection of emerging technologies and educational impact for delivery of Sesame Street content into pre-school environments in the coming couple of years, Branch-Ridley will be responsible for working across multiple platforms and connecting various Sesame Workshop departments to ensure the greatest benefit of the Workshop’s mission-driven content. In this capacity, Branch-Ridley will report to Laura Smith, Vice President of Sesame Learning.

Erica Branch-Ridley

Branch-Ridley joined the Workshop in 2008 as the Broadband Supervising Producer for The Electric Company and most recently served as Assistant Vice President and Supervising Producer of The Electric Company Digital, responsible for creating an educational and engaging experience for children and their caregivers on numerous digital platforms. In 2010, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for The Electric Company website in the “New Approaches – Children’s Entertainment” category.

“As Sesame Workshop creates meaningful content experiences to impact the lives of children and their families, we look to Erica’s proven leadership skills and results-driven orientation to drive Sesame Workshop’s mission,” says Smith. “We are excited to combine Erica’s knowledge and creativity in digital media and passion for supporting educators to deliver Sesame Street content in new and exciting ways.”

Prior to joining the Workshop, Branch-Ridley worked as Executive Producer and Sr. Director of TV Land Digital where she oversaw the creative direction and production for both the TV Land and Nick-at-Nite websites.  She has won numerous awards for her work at TV Land including a Primetime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Television” for her work as Executive Producer for the 2005 TV Land Awards Online application.  She was also twice nominated for a NATAS Technology Emmy Award in 2004 and 2005 in the same category. Branch-Ridley also worked as the Senior Producer for Nickelodeon Online and the Education Content Producer for The AT&T Learning Network. Previous to working in the internet industry, she spent almost 10 years in the television industry working for such companies as Black Entertainment Television and CBS-News.

In 2007, Branch-Ridley was one of 30 people chosen by the National Association of Multi-ethnicity in Cable to participate in their prestigious Executive Leadership Development Program at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA that she completed in May 2008.  She has completed graduate coursework at Seton Hall University in Elementary Education and Technology and holds a B.S. degree from Syracuse University from the esteemed S.I. Newhouse School in Speech Communications and Television Production and was recently appointed to their new Alumni Board of Directors. She currently resides in West Orange, New Jersey, with her husband and three children.

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that revolutionized children’s television programming with the landmark Sesame Street. The Workshop produces local Sesame Street programs, seen in over 150 countries, and other acclaimed shows to help bridge the literacy gap including The Electric Company. Beyond television, the Workshop produces content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues including literacy, health and military deployment. Initiatives meet specific needs to help young children and families develop critical skills, acquire healthy habits and build emotional strength to prepare them for lifelong learning. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org [3].