Gary E. Knell is President and Chief Executive Officer of Sesame Workshop. He leads the nonprofit educational organization in its mission to create innovative, engaging content that maximizes the educational power of all media to help children reach their highest potential. He has been instrumental in focusing the organization on Sesame Street’s global mission, including the creation of groundbreaking co-productions in South Africa, India, Northern Ireland, and Egypt. He also helped found Sprout, a 24-hour domestic cable co-venture with NBC Universal in the United States.
Mr. Knell is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, serves as a director of the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, is on the board of governors of the National Geographic Education Foundation, and is a board member of AARP Services, Inc., the Jacob Burns Film Center, and Save the Children. He is also an adviser to WFUV, public radio from Fordham University; the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California; and Common Sense Media.
Mr. Knell holds a bachelor of arts in political science and journalism from UCLA and a doctor of jurisprudence from the Loyola University School of Law.
