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Sherrie Rollins Westin
CEO of Sesame Workshop
Sherrie Rollins Westin is the CEO of Sesame Workshop, the global nonprofit organization behind the popular children's television series Sesame Street.12 She assumed this role in July 2024, after serving as President and Interim CEO from February to July 2024.2
Westin has had a long and distinguished career with Sesame Workshop, joining the organization in 1998 and holding various leadership positions.2 Her previous roles at Sesame Workshop include:
- President (January 2021 - February 2024)
- President of Social Impact and Philanthropy (June 2018 - January 2021)
- Executive Vice President of Social Impact and Philanthropy (April 2015 - June 2018)
- Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (January 1998 - April 2015)
Under Westin's leadership, Sesame Workshop has expanded its global impact, particularly in early childhood education for vulnerable children. She spearheaded a partnership with the International Rescue Committee to bring critical early education to children affected by crises in various regions, including the Middle East, Bangladesh, East Africa, Latin America, and those displaced from Afghanistan and Ukraine.23
Westin's career also includes significant roles outside of Sesame Workshop:
- Executive Vice President of Network Communications at ABC Television Network (1994-1998)
- Assistant to the President for Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs under President George H.W. Bush (1992)
- Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (1989-1990)
She has received numerous accolades for her work, including being named a "Leading Global Thinker" by Foreign Policy Magazine, one of Fast Company's "100 Most Creative People in Business," and receiving the Smithsonian's "American Ingenuity Award".23
Westin is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she earned a degree in Communications in 1980.12 She also holds an Honorary Doctorate from Concordia College in New York.1

