caption birth_place birth_date known_for spouse image article_title birth_name alma_mater
cooney in 1985 phoenix , arizona , u.s. 30 november 1929 sesame workshop and sesame street peter g. peterson joan ganz cooney.jpg joan ganz cooney
 joan ganz university -rrb- of arizona -lrb- b.a. , education , 1951
joan ganz cooney

joan ganz cooney -lrb- born joan ganz ; november 30 , 1929 -rrb- is an american television producer .
she is one of the founders of the children 's television network -lrb- ctw -rrb- , the organization famous for the creation of the children 's television show `` sesame street '' , which was also co-created by her .
cooney grew up in phoenix , arizona and earned a b.a. degree in education from the university of arizona in 1951 .
after working for the state department in washington , d.c. and as a journalist in phoenix , she worked as a publicist for television and production companies in new york city .
in 1961 , she became interested in working for educational television , and became a documentary producer for new york 's first educational tv station wnet -lrb- channel 13 -rrb- .
many of the programs she produced won local emmys .
in 1966 , cooney hosted what she called `` a little dinner party '' at her apartment near gramercy park .
in attendance was her 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 on several boards , was the trustees of many organizations , and received many awards and honorary degrees .
in 2007 , the sesame workshop founded the joan ganz cooney center , named in her honor .
