Joan Ganz Cooney
In 1966, Cooney hosted what she called "a little dinner party" at her apartment near Gramercy Park. In attendance was her then-husband Tim Cooney, her boss Lewis Freedman, and Lloyd Morrisett, an executive at the Carnegie Corporation, in which the potential of television to teach young children was discussed. Cooney was chosen to oversee and direct the creation of what eventually became the children's television program ''Sesame Street'', which premiered in 1969, and the CTW, the organization that oversaw its production. Cooney was named CTW's first executive director. As one of the first female executives in American television, her appointment was called "one of the most important television developments of the decade".
Cooney remained executive director of the CTW until 1990 when she became the chair of CTW's executive board. She served as a board member or trustee for many organizations, and received numerous awards and honorary degrees. In 2007, the Sesame Workshop founded The Joan Ganz Cooney Center. Provided by Wikipedia