Press Release

THF Conversations Hosts Back to School with Sesame Workshop: An Innovative Approach to Inclusion & Diversity Education, Aug. 12th, 2021

A conversation with Sesame Workshop’s Akimi Gibson, Vice President & Education Publisher, Sesame Learning & Dr. Rosemarie T. Truglio, Senior Vice President, Curriculum and Content

(Dearborn, Mich. – Aug. 2, 2021) – On August 12th at 5:30 pm, The Henry Ford will host Sesame Workshop’s Akimi Gibson, Vice President & Education Publisher, Sesame Learning and Dr. Rosemarie T. Truglio, Senior Vice President, Curriculum and Content for THF Conversations: Back to School with Sesame Workshop: An Innovative Approach to Inclusion & Diversity Education. Hosted over Zoom and in collaboration with The Henry Ford’s inHub, the virtual conversation focuses on Sesame Workshop’s research on effective and innovative ways to discuss race, identity, and being an “upstander” with the youngest learners. The discussion will be hosted by The Henry Ford’s Senior Manager of Learning Services and On-Site Programs Phil Grumm. To register, visit:https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_T8f9cFSpTyOIMPPlOXDLag

Since the landmark study that inspired Sesame Street, Sesame Workshop – the nonprofit organization behind the beloved show – has been a leader in the conversation about how media can reach and educate children and their families. Recently, the Workshop conducted extensive research on how to help families build racial literacy and talk about race and racism with young children; this research has informed Sesame Street content, character development, and more. During the virtual conversation, Gibson and Dr. Truglio will discuss how the research has helped them create tools and programs for preschoolers and their caregivers.

Akimi Gibson is Sesame Workshop’s Vice President and Education Publisher, Sesame Learning. An accomplished product development and educational publishing executive, Gibson has deep expertise in child development and early childhood education, with a particular emphasis on underserved populations. She currently leads formal education initiatives and partnerships for Sesame Workshop, working with industry-leading partners including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and McGraw-Hill Education. Gibson holds degrees in human and child development as well as school administration.

Dr. Rosemarie T. Truglio is the Senior Vice President of Curriculum and Content at Sesame Workshop. Dr. Truglio is responsible for the development of the whole-child school readiness curriculum on which Sesame Street is based and oversees content development across new television properties, books, toys, theme park activities, and more. Dr. Truglio has written numerous articles in child and developmental psychology journals and presented her work at national and international conferences. Her current book is Ready for School! A Parent’s Guide to Playful Learning for Children Ages 2 to 5 published by Running Press (2019). She is also co-editor of G is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street (2001) published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is currently the host to The Jim Henson Exhibit: Imagination Unlimited, a traveling exhibition organized by the Museum of Moving Image (MoMI) now through Sept. 6, 2021. The exhibition explores Henson’s groundbreaking work for film and television and his transformative impact on popular culture. It reveals how Henson and his team of builders, performers, and writers brought to life enduringly popular worlds and characters, including Sesame Street and so much more. For more information on the exhibit, inHub and THF Conversations, visit thf.org.