Fred Rogers Productions Names Ellen Doherty As Chief Creative Officer, A New Position

Bruce Haring

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Fred Rogers Productions, the nonprofit children’s entertainment producer behind the PBS Kids series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Odd Squad, and Peg + Cat, has promoted Ellen Doherty to chief creative officer, a newly-created position.

In her new role, Doherty will oversee an expanding portfolio of children’s content across multiple platforms and manage a growing team of creative professionals. She reports directly to president and CEO Paul Siefken.

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“Ellen is a creative dynamo who has done a fantastic job expanding our ‘Neighborhood’ with extraordinary content,” said Siefken. “From her oversight of our award-winning portfolio to exceptional new projects in development, Ellen has been instrumental at every stage of the creative process, and we’ll continue to benefit from her know-how and talent.”

Doherty said being a part of the FRP team “is a true joy. I’m excited about the milestones we’ve achieved with our current series and look forward to introducing audiences to our new projects, which will provide them with even more outstanding content to engage with and learn from together.”

Doherty, who joined Fred Rogers Productions as executive in charge of production in January 2016, oversees the creation of television and digital content for the company’s multiple Emmy Award-winning PBS Kids series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Odd Squad. She also helms the development of new properties, including the Emmy Award-winning Through the Woods, a short-form, preschool series she created in 2017. In addition, she served as the program’s head writer and executive producer. In 2018, Doherty was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like, the 50th anniversary tribute to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Since Doherty joined the company, Fred Rogers Productions has won 58 awards. In 2019 alone, the company earned 18 awards, including five Daytime Emmys: Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood (Outstanding Preschool Children’s Animated Series); Odd Squad (Outstanding Children’s or Family Viewing Series; Outstanding Writing for a Children’s Preschool Children’s, Family Viewing; and Outstanding Directing for a Children’s, Preschool Children’s or Family Viewing Program – Odd Squad: World Turned Odd); and Peg + Cat (Outstanding Original Song in A Children’s or Animated Program – “Making a World With My Friend”).

Doherty was previously executive producer and story editor of the PBS Kids series, Cyberchase. She oversaw production of television and digital content, including several short-form video series, for the program over six seasons. Doherty began her career as an associate producer on the award-winning PBS Kids series, Reading Rainbow.

Doherty holds a B.A. in Communications from Boston College.

Fred Rogers Productions was founded by Fred Rogers in 1971 as the non-profit producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for PBS. In the years that followed, it not only created hundreds of episodes of this much-loved program, but also extended his values and approach to other efforts in promoting children’s social, emotional, and behavioral health while supporting parents, caregivers, teachers, and other professionals in their work with children.

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