Sesame Workshop has upped Kim Díaz to VP of creative development, with the remit of leading the nonprofit’s short- and long-form development strategy and exploring new types of content. Reporting to creative and production EVP Kay Wilson Stallings, Díaz is also in charge of finding distributors for its new properties.

Díaz joined Sesame in 2016, most recently serving as senior director of creative development. She has overseen projects such as the animated special Elmo Gets a Puppy and the animated Coming Together shorts, and also produced the YouTube short The Monster at the End of Your Story with Grover and Elmo.

In her new role, Díaz will support the company’s expansion into new content and formats beyond its flagship Sesame Street series—part of CEO Steve Youngwood’s growth strategy to find new audiences and stay relevant. Over the past two years, Sesame has been moving from live-action and puppets into animation, with projects including a Charlotte’s Web miniseries and the holiday special Sesame Street: The Nutcracker for Warner Bros. Discovery.

Beyond its for-TV content, the nonprofit received a US$150,000 grant from Epic Games in April to create a digital version of the iconic Sesame Street set, which Sesame aims to spin out into a VR experience and interactive content.

Díaz brings wide-ranging kids industry experience to the Sesame table as it heads into this period of growth. Before joining Sesame, she produced live-actioner The Sunny Side Up Show for NBCUniversal’s Sprout, and was a writer and producer for Nick Jr. interstitials.