Sesame Workshop has named Sal Perez the newest Vice President, Executive Producer of Sesame Street Production.
Perez brings rich experience to the Executive Producer role, having spent a cumulative 14 years producing international and domestic content for the nonprofit organization behind the beloved series. Beginning with Sesame Street’s upcoming 53rd season, he will oversee the production and creative direction of the series and related domestic social impact productions, digital projects, and themed entertainment experiences. He will report to Kay Wilson Stallings, Executive Vice President of Creative and Production.
“Sal is a strong leader and an incredible collaborator with invaluable production expertise and a deep love for all things Sesame,” said Wilson Stallings. “I look forward to partnering with him and tapping his global perspective as we plan the future of the Sesame Street brand, helping kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder in our increasingly connected world.”
For the past year, Perez has worked with the domestic production team as Sesame Street’s Supervising Producer, overseeing production of Sesame Street Season 52, See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special, The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo’s second season, and more. In his previous role as Sesame Workshop’s Senior Director and Supervising Producer, International Content, he managed creative and production on a wide array of projects in regions including LATAM, Brazil, Europe, and China.
Perez takes the helm from Ben Lehmann, who has been Sesame Street’s Executive Producer for the last five seasons and plans to focus on new directing opportunities. Lehmann will stay on for the current production season, working with Perez and team in a consulting capacity. He will continue to direct Sesame Street episodes in the future.
Throughout his time at Sesame Workshop, Perez has produced bilingual content for many of the organization’s biggest social impact initiatives, including Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children and a public service announcement campaign to encourage participation in the 2020 census. During the pandemic, he oversaw creation of animated Sesame Street Muppet resources that reached families across 30 countries in ten different languages.
Perez’s career with Sesame Workshop began on Plaza Sésamo, the Mexican co-production of Sesame Street, where he served as a producer for several years and oversaw Sesame production with broadcaster Televisa. He also produced Sesame Amigos, a Spanish-language series for Univision in the United States. In addition to his work with Sesame Workshop, Perez has served as a producer for scripted and unscripted television in Mexico, on projects including the first season of Mexico’s Got Talent (Fremantle Mexico). He has a BFA in Film/Video Production from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.