KENAN FELLOWSHIP AT WGBH
JUNE 5 – AUGUST 4, 2017
BOSTON, MA
Description
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) and WGBH in Boston, MA, are
pleased to announce the 2017 Kenan Fellowship. The Kenan Fellowship is made possible by
generous support from the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts in partnership with WGBH.
The Kenan Fellowship at WGBH is open to recent graduates from the School of Filmmaking at
UNCSA (2013-2017). The Kenan Fellowship will enable one (1) Fellow to spend a period of ten
(10) weeks during the summer months (June 5-August 4, 2017) at the offices of WGBH, the
flagship of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in Boston.
The Kenan Fellowship will provide one student with the opportunity to gain hands-on
experience during the production of the Molly of Denali pilot for PBS KIDS. The Fellow will have
the opportunity to observe and participate during the animation, sound design, and scoring
stages of the pilot production process. The Fellow will review producer’s notes, designs, and
animatics, and, additionally, may provide production support on other ongoing series, such as
Arthur.
The Kenan Fellow will have the opportunity to be mentored by both Dorothea Gillim (Executive
Producer) and Marcy Gunther (Senior Producer), with oversight from Senior Executive Producer
of WGBH Children’s Programming, Carol Greenwald.
About WGBH Boston
WGBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS
content for TV and the Web, including Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, Nova,
American Experience, Arthur, Curious George, and more than a dozen other prime-time,
lifestyle, and children’s series. WGBH’s television channels include WGBH 2, WGBH 44, and the
digital channels World and Create. WGBH TV productions focusing on the region’s diverse
community include Greater Boston, Basic Black, High School Quiz Show, and Neighborhood
Kitchens. WGBH Radio serves listeners across New England with 89.7 WGBH, Boston Public
Radio; 99.5 WCRB, Classical New England; and WCAI, the Cape and Islands NPR® Station. WGBH
also is a major source of programs for public radio (among them, PRI’s The World®), a leader in
educational multimedia (including PBS LearningMedia™, providing the nation’s educators with
free, curriculum-based digital content), and a pioneer in technologies and services that make
media accessible to deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and visually impaired audiences. WGBH has
been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards and
Oscars. Find more information at wgbh.org.
About Molly of Denali:
Molly of Denali is an animated series featuring the adventures of Molly Mabray, a 10-year-old
Athabascan girl living in interior Alaska, as she and her parents run the Denali Trading Post.
Kenan Fellowship at WGBH
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Aimed at kids ages 4 to 8, the transmedia project features a curriculum focused on science and
social studies, and showcases how informational text, in all its many forms, is essential for
solving problems and communicating knowledge.
About Dorothea Gillim
Dorothea Gillim is an Executive Producer at WGBH for the Emmy Award-winning PBS series
Curious George. She began her television career as a writer/audio editor on the Peabody
Award-winning series Dr. Katz for Comedy Central. Dorothea went on to produce Science Court
for ABC Saturday Morning and TimeWarp Trio for Discovery Kids before creating her first
animated comedy, Hey Monie, for Oxygen. In 2006 she created WordGirl for PBS KIDS, winner
of four Emmys and a Television Critics Award. Before her stint in television, Dorothea was a 5th
grade teacher. She received a Masters in Education from Harvard.
About Marcy Gunther
Marcy Gunther, Senior Producer of Children’s Media at WGBH, is an Emmy Award-winning
producer with 20 years of experience developing and producing educational children’s media.
She is currently Producer of the PBS Ready To Learn digital science series, The Ruff Ruffman
Show. Prior to this, she was the Producer of FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman and Content Producer
for the Emmy Award-winning children’s series ZOOM. She has also worked on Sesame Street
and Arthur, and has produced projects for The United Way, the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, the Smithsonian, and the National Wildlife Federation. Marcy holds a BFA in
Film/Animation/Video from the Rhode Island School of Design.
About Carol Greenwald
Carol Greenwald is Senior Executive Producer of Children’s Programming at WGBH Boston,
where she has produced some of the best-loved and most-watched children’s series on
television. Carol co-created and serves as Executive Producer of Curious George, a WGBHUniversal partnership based on the exploits of H.A. and Margret Rey’s mischievous monkey.
Carol also co-created WGBH’s multiple Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Arthur, and
continues to serve as executive producer for the series, which is now the longest running
children’s animated show on television. Carol brought Susan Meddaugh’s beloved Martha
Speaks books to PBS in 2008, serving as creator and executive producer. She has been honored
with five national Emmys (for Arthur and Curious George), and a George Foster Peabody Award
(for Arthur).
KENAN FELLOWSHIP AT WGBH APPLICATION
Applicant’s Name:
Date:
Address:
Area of Study:
Phone:
(home)
(cell)
Email:
Preferred means of contact:
Email
Phone
Details
The Kenan Fellowship at WGBH in Boston begins June 5, 2017 and lasts 10 weeks, concluding August 4, 2017.
Provisions
 Stipend of $400 per week
 Housing allowance of $650 per month
 One-time travel stipend of $500 for travel to and from Boston
 The Fellowship does not include health insurance coverage
Preferred Qualifications
 Strong interest in children's programming and animation
 Comfortable producing rough illustrations, either by hand sketching or by using a computer program
 Strong written and oral communication skills
 Strong organizational skills
 Desire to learn and grow as an artist and as an individual
 Interest and openness in developing a mentor/fellow relationship and in receiving guidance and input
from their mentor and other WGBH staff
 Ability to work independently and in groups
Application Materials (attach to this form)
 A cover letter, no longer than two (2) pages that addresses the following:
o Explain your interest in the Kenan Fellowship at WGBH – why do you think you would be a good
candidate?
o What are your goals as an artist? How will this Fellowship help you achieve your goals?
o Why are you a fit for this particular Fellowship?
o Have you been mentored or mentored someone in a work setting?
 Resume or curriculum vitae
 Narrative writing sample of three (3) pages or less (this can be part of a larger work such as a script or
story)
 Three (3) current references (at least 1 from UNCSA faculty)
 Two (2) letters of recommendation from arts professionals
DEADLINE
Friday, April 21, 2017
SKYPE INTERVIEWS
April 27 and April 28, 2017
specific times will be arranged as application materials are received
***Submission of application materials does not guarantee an interview.***
Submit all application materials electronically to:
TaWanna Archia, Program Manager, Career Development & Community Engagement Office
[email protected].