The Quality Question: How To Create High-Quality Children’s Media

We know it when we see it (or hear it, or read it), but what qualities make content high-quality? The Department of Communication & Media Studies at Fordham University invites you to join the Children's Media Association and the National Association for Media Literacy Education for CMA's first ever crowdsourced panel led by creators within our community discussing what defines - and how to create - quality content.

Panelists include creators Danny Joe LaBrecque (Danny Joe's Tree House), Chevez Sanchez (Better Together), Lynn Kestin-Sessler (Dora's Recipe for Adventure), and Gabe Pulliam (The Creature Cases), and will be moderated by Sherri Hope Culver (author of the report The Quality Question: Why Children's Media Must Aim High) with children's media strategist, analyst, author, speaker, and connector David Kleeman as our respondent.

Danny Joe LaBrecque

Danny Joe LaBrecque is creator and host of the streaming preschool series, Danny Joe’s Tree House, a show that works to create healthy social-emotional habits at an early age, fostering age-appropriate conversations about complex topics that can support long-term practices for families as they grow together. In addition to the traditional passive screen, he also brings regular interactive live-stream and in-person versions of the show into early childhood classrooms, libraries, and museums.

Danny has worked in the field of early childhood development for 25 years, serving as a preschool teacher in Chicago and Baltimore. He was lead curriculum developer for early childhood programs at the Field Museum of Natural History, and studied Applied Behavioral Science with an Early Childhood Development focus at National Louis University.

A classically trained performer in theater, clowning, movement and dance, he also studied children's illustration and sculpture at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and later, circus arts at The Actors Gymnasium in Evanston, Illinois. He is also a student of classic children's television and enjoys reflecting on the medium, then and now, through conversations with respected children's media professionals on his podcast, Cookies for Breakfast with Danny LaBrecque.

Chevez Sanchez

Chevez Jedai Sanchez is a Puerto Rican filmmaker and animation studio owner from Brooklyn, NY. In 2019 Chevez established Cleos Studios LLC as an animation production house for New York Artists focused on making original content and children’s media. As a sole proprietor, Chevez bootstrapped his own company with bigger and bigger freelance jobs and gradually hired his artistic community. Starting with directing small commercials, he’s built up to show running an animated children's series for Johns Hopkins. Chevez’s production team is naturally composed of people of color, many of whom share his Puerto Rican background. The studio’s next original picture “The Resilient Coquí” is currently in production and is set to premiere at the Los Angeles International Latino Film Festival in Summer of 2026.

Lynn Kestin-Sessler

Lynn Kestin Sessler is a Peabody, Webby and Parent’s Choice Award-winning Producer and Development Executive who creates animated series, digital, podcast and live action TV programming for PBS, Nickelodeon, Netflix, Sesame Street, and MTV Networks. A trailblazer in children’s media for over 25 years, Lynn is passionate about creating playful, meaningful, and empowering content, brands, and experiences for kids and their grown-ups. She’s been at the forefront of multiplatform storytelling and industry innovation, Lynn specializes in adapting books to TV series and movies and creating content on multiple platforms.

Lynn’s most recent adventure is Head of Creative Development & Executive Producer at Nickelodeon - creating YouTube & Podcast series. In the podcast world, Lynn has created and produced a slate of Webby award-winning audio and video podcasts for Nickelodeon, including Dora's Recipe for Adventure, Avatar Braving the Elements and Goodnight Bedtime Stories. She has also produced 6 current audio series for Audible and created award-winning podcasts for PINNA (Highlights Hangout, and the Webby & Parent’s Choice honored-Emma-Made Lemonade) and Noggin. On the TV front, Lynn is Webby award winning Executive Producer on Go, Dog, Go! on Netflix ,PBS’ The Cat in the Hat Knows A lot About That! And the PBS KIDS  audience animated movie -ROCKET SAVES THE DAY. In the interactive space, Lynn was Supervising Digital Producer, on Ready Jet Go!, the Webby Award - honored The Cat in the Hat Knows a lot About That!, WordGirl, and Sesame Street, among others On the audio side, overseen the creation and production of the Webby award winning shows from Nickelodeon including Avatar Braving the Elements, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Dora’s Recipe for Adventure, Nickelodeon’s Goodnight Bedtime Stories and more.

Lynn has been twice elected to the National Board of Producers Guild (PGA)/and is CoChair PGA Career Longevity Working Group. Lynn is also a member of the TV Academy (Children’s Programming & Animation Groups) the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Media Association and the Common Sense Media Board of Advisors. Lynn is also an Emmy, Webby and Signal Award judge and a longtime mentor for the Children’s Media Association.

Gabe Pulliam

Gabe Pulliam is a writer based in New York City. He is the creator, head writer, and executive producer of the Annie-nominated Netflix series "The Creature Cases," currently in production with Sony Pictures Television Kids. He served as head writer on the STEM-focused "Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt," which he co-developed, and as story editor of the international hit "Octonauts," for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award. In addition to his work in children’s media, he is a faculty member at New York’s School of Visual Arts, where he teaches writing to undergraduate animation students. 

Sherri Hope Culver

Sherri Hope Culver serves as Director of the Center for Media and Information Literacy at Temple University where she is a Professor of Instruction in Klein College of Media and Communication and directs the Certificate in Children’s Media. She served as vice-chair of the UNESCO-led Global Media and Information Literacy Alliance and regularly presents internationally on media literacy and children’s media topics. Sherri was a key advisor on the PBS Kids Guiding Framework on Media Literacy. She recently published The Quality Question: Why Children's Media Must Aim High. Sherri produces and hosts the podcast Kids Talk Media. She was a Fulbright Global Scholar for 2022-2023 conducting research on children’s media and media literacy globally.

David Kleeman

Strategist, analyst, author, speaker, connector, David has led the children’s media industry in developing sustainable, child-friendly practices for more than 35 years. He began this work as president of the American Center for Children and Media and is now Senior Vice President of Global Trends for Dubit, a strategy/researchconsultancy and games studio. As Playvangelist, LLC, David offers independent consulting and advising. When he began this work, “children’s media” meant television. Today, he is fascinated by, and passionate about, kids’ wide range of possibilities for entertainment, engagement, play and learning. David uses research, insights and experience to show that much may change, but children’s developmental path and needs remain constant. David is advisory board chair to the international children’s TV festival PRIX JEUNESSE, on the board of the Children’s Media Association and the Advisory Board of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. He was a 2013 Senior Fellow of the Fred Rogers Center and 2014 “Pioneer” Award recipient from Kids @ Play Interactive. In 2023, he was in the inaugural class of Children’s and Family Emmys Silver Circle inductees, for 25+ years of service.