GBH Kids Expands with Key Personnel Moves

GBH, the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America, announces the promotions of Executive Producer Dorothea Gillim to Creative Director, Executive Producer Marisa Wolsky to Director of Children’s STEM Media, and Lisa A. Jones to the newly created role of General Manager, GBH Kids. These key personnel moves within the Children’s Media and Education department come as 35-year GBH Senior Executive Producer Carol Greenwald, creator of the popular GBH and PBS TV series Arthur, steps into a consulting role as Creative Advisor.

“The expansion of GBH Kids through the promotion of tremendous talent within our children’s media team and the creation of the general manager role reflects that exciting things are ahead for one of our fastest-growing departments here at GBH,” said GBH President and CEO Jon Abbott. “As we continue to evolve and grow, I’m looking forward to working with our team to find new and innovative ways to educate, inspire and entertain young audiences for years to come.”

As Creative Director, Dorothea Gillim will oversee production of new and existing children’s media projects. Gillim is the executive producer for the PBS KIDS’ series Pinkalicious & Peterrific and Molly of Denali, winner of the Peabody, Television Critics and Kidscreen Awards. She began her GBH career more than 10 years ago producing the Emmy-winning PBS KIDS series Curious George. Prior to that, Gillim spent 15 years at the Boston-based animation studio Soup2Nuts where she created Wordgirl for PBS KIDS, which received four Emmys and a TCA Award. She also served as executive producer for GBH’s Timewarp Trio, and created and produced Hey Monie for Oxygen and BET.

As the new General Manager, Lisa A. Jones will be responsible for executing the long-term vision and business strategy for GBH Kids. In this role, she will work with legal, financial planning, fundraising and distribution partners, and coordinate with community engagement and outreach activities to ensure successful project development. Prior to GBH, Jones served as the Deputy Director of Human Resources at the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan Airport and the Port of Boston, and provided leadership at Massport in the role of Deputy Port Director. She also served as the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Assistant Administrator for Communications in the Obama Administration. Previously, she worked at GBH as Project Director for Zoom and Fetch with Ruff Ruffman.

In her new role as Director of Children’s STEM Media, Marisa Wolsky will be responsible for developing and executing strategic plans for GBH Kids STEM media projects. An Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer with more than 30 years’ experience in children’s media and production development, Wolsky has worked on the development and production of the integrated video/game Emmy-nominated digital series Scribbles and Ink, the preschool science series Peep and the Big Wide World, and the engineering web series Design Squad. She is also one of the executive producers for the PBS KIDS Ready To Learn-funded series Wombats! (working title), a multiplatform project designed to teach computational thinking and mindsets to children ages 3-5.

Carol Greenwald, an award-winning Senior Executive Producer, will be stepping into a new consulting role as Creative Advisor, GBH Kids. Greenwald’s 35 year-career at GBH includes serving as the executive producer for the multiple Emmy and Peabody Award-winning show Arthur, the longest running children’s animated series on television. She also produced Curious George, Martha Speaks, Postcards from Buster and Time Warp Trio. As a senior advisor, Greenwald will continue to consult on various projects.

“For over 35 years, Carol has brought her creative ideas to life, earning multiple awards for her brilliant leadership and production of some of the world’s most popular and iconic children’s programs,” said Terry Fitzpatrick, GBH Vice President for Children’s Media and Education. “No amount of accolades can truly capture the impact that she has made on children’s lives throughout her remarkable career. On behalf of everyone at GBH, I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Carol for her countless and groundbreaking contributions to our organization.”

The expansion of GBH Kids within the Children’s Media and Education department reflects the organization’s overall evolution from a local TV and radio broadcast station to an on-demand and digital-first content creator that meets the needs of audiences nationwide. In addition to creating television series, children’s programming at GBH has a multiplatform presence to provide as much opportunity as possible to reach young audiences, such as the Molly of Denali podcast which reached over 9.8 million audio streams during the latest season’s iteration.

As one of the largest content producers for PBS KIDS and honored for its original approach to offering curriculum-based content, GBH Children’s Media and Education embraces meeting audiences where they are through streaming platforms, web and app-based games, digital-based series, social media and virtual events to be a resource for both the home and classroom.

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