Angela Santomero

Angela C. Santomero (born April 26, 1968) is an American television executive producer and co-creator of the Nickelodeon children's television programs ''Blue's Clues'', its spin-off ''Blue's Room'', and its reboot ''Blue's Clues & You!'', as well as the PBS children's shows '' Super Why!'', & ''Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'', the Amazon series '' Creative Galaxy'', '' Wishenpoof!'', and the Netflix original series '' Charlie's Colorforms City''. Santomero has won a Peabody Award, a 2012 Emmy Award for ''Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'', two Television Critics Association Awards, and the 2018 World Screen's Kids Trendsetter Award. She has been nominated for more than twenty-five Emmy Awards and numerous Parents' Choice Gold and Silver Awards.

Early life and education

Santomero grew up in Harrington Park, New Jersey, where she attended Harrington Park Public School before attending and graduating from Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan in 1986. She received her bachelor's degree from Catholic University, which later presented her with their Young Alumni Merit Award. She earned a master's degree in child development and psychology, with a specialty in instructional technology and media, from Columbia University. During graduate school, she was influenced by the research of Daniel R. Anderson, who studied the effects of television violence on children and later served as a researcher and consultant for ''Blue's Clues'', and "became fascinated with the idea that if television could have a powerful negative effect on kids, it could have an equally powerful positive effect on them..." She was also influenced by Fred Rogers, host of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' and the researchers of ''Sesame Street''.

Career

Santomero worked as a researcher for Nickelodeon in the early 1990s, when the network was looking to create a new television show for preschoolers. In 1994, Santomero, along with director Todd Kessler and animator Traci Paige Johnson (a group that Nickelodeon executive Brown Johnson called a "green creative team"), created the "landmark" series ''Blue's Clues''. According to writer Diane Tracy, Santomero, Kessler, and Johnson did not possess traditional backgrounds of most producers of children's programs, but "did possess an amazing combination of talents, backgrounds, and personal attributes." Santomero served as executive producer and head writer, and designed the show's research and curriculum. She also produced and developed other ''Blue's Clues'' projects, such as the full-length movie '' Blue's Big Musical Movie,'' educational CDs and books based on the show, two ''Blue's Clues'' theatrical productions, which toured across the U.S., and the reboot ''Blue's Clues & You!''. She was also the founder of a company called Out of the Blue Enterprises which later was renamed to 9 Story USA. In 2007, Santomero created the PBS program '' Super Why!''; she also served as executive producer and head writer.

In 2011, she became host of PBS's ''The Parent Show'', an online series about parenting. In September 2012, ''Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'', for which Santomero is creator, executive producer and head writer, debuted on PBS. After Fred died in 2003, "Kevin Morrison (CEO-Fred Rogers Co.) reached out to Angela and asked what show she would do to honor Fred's legacy". Her idea was an animated version of Fred Rogers' Neighborhood of Make Believe. This was the birth of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

On March 28, 2023, Angela C. Santomero left 9 Story Media Group as Chief Creative Officer, but she currently maintains her duties as the CEO of 9 Story USA.

She is also the creator and producer of the Amazon original series '' Creative Galaxy'' and '' Wishenpoof!'', and the Netflix series '' Charlie's Colorforms City''. Angela authored ''Preschool Clues - Raising Smart, Inspired and Engaged Kids in a Screen-Filled World'' (Touchstone 2018) with co-author Deborah Reber, and authored ''Radical Kindness - The Life-Changing Power of Giving and Receiving'' (HarperCollins Publishers 2019) with foreword by Deepak Chopra.

Personal life

Santomero resides in Greenwich, Connecticut, with her husband Greg, an Emmy Award-winning designer/creative director, and their two daughters.

Filmography

Television

References

Works cited

* Tracy, Diane. (2002). ''Blue's Clues for Success: The 8 Secrets Behind a Phenomenal Business''. New York: Kaplan Publishing. .

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Santomero, Angela
1968 births
Living people
PBS people
Catholic University of America alumni
Teachers College, Columbia University alumni
Nickelodeon Animation Studio people
American women television producers
American people of Italian descent
Businesspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut
Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan alumni
People from Harrington Park, New Jersey
Connecticut Democrats
Television producers from New Jersey
21st-century American women
American television show creators
Businesspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey