Unfortunately, Sandra Oh is no longer available to participate as a judge in the Aniboom Awards 4 Sesame Street animation competition. However, Neil Patrick Harris, Juju Chang, Kevin Clash, Jeffrey Hale and Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan have all voted and we're excited to announce the Grand Prize Winner on Monday, May 17th.

 

Neil Patrick Harris

Since 2005, Neil Patrick Harris has played ‘Barney Stinson’ in the CBS ensemble sitcom How I Met Your Mother, for which he earned three Emmy nominations for best supporting male actor in a comedy series.

 

Harris began his career as a child actor, and was discovered by playwright Mark Medoff and cast in the 1988 film Clara's Heart, in which he earned a Golden Globe nomination. In 1988, he also starred in Purple People Eater, a children's fantasy and the following year, Harris won the lead in Doogie Howser, M.D., for which he was again nominated for a Golden Globe.

 

Harris has worked on Broadway in both musical and dramatic roles. He played ‘Tobias Ragg’ in 2001 concert performances of Sweeney Todd. In 2002, he performed on Broadway beside Anne Heche in Proof. In 2003, he took the role of the ‘Emcee’ in Cabaret. In 2004, he performed a dual role of the ‘Balladeer’ and ‘Lee Harvey Oswald’ on Broadway in the controversial musical revival of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. He also sang the role of ‘Charles’ on the Nonesuch recording of Sondheim's Evening Primrose. Harris also portrayed ‘Mark Cohen’ in the touring company of the musical RENT, a character who he mockingly reprised on an episode of Saturday Night Live, which he hosted.

 

 In 2009, Harris toured the award show circuit hosting the TV Land Awards, The Tony Awards as well as the Primetime Emmy Awards.

 

Juju Chang

Juju Chang is the news anchor for ABC News' Good Morning America and an Emmy Award-winning correspondent for 20/20 and Nightline.  She also hosts Moms Get Real, a digital show for ABC News Now, and authors a blog called “JuJu Juggles” about work, motherhood and the madness of everyday living.

 

Chang contributed to breaking news coverage of the earthquake in Haiti and has received an Emmy was for coverage of California wildfires. She’s previously won a Gracie for a 20/20 story on gender equality in the sciences.   Her other recent stories include an hour-long examination of the long-term impact of foreign adoptions; the struggles of people with Albinism globally, including the plight of Tanzanian albinos; and an in-depth portrait of one family as it deals with the gender transition of the dad.

 

She has reported for Nightline on a wide variety of topics including the Heparin tainting scandal, the diet wars and the state of the in vitro fertilization industry.

 

Chang also won a Gracie for a story about judicial activism on PBS' Now and a Freddie for a series she hosted — also for PBS — called The Art of Women's Health.

 

From 1999 to 2000, she anchored the early morning newscasts of ABC News' World News Now and World News This Morning. Chang has previously reported primarily for World News Tonight covering such stories as the U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya, Hurricane George, and the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

 

Born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in California, Chang graduated with honors from Stanford University with a BA in political science and communication. At Stanford, she was awarded the Edwin Cotrell Political Science Prize.

 

She is married to Neal Shapiro and has three sons. She’s a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a founding board member of the Korean American Community Foundation. 

 

Kevin Clash

Kevin Clash, whose characters include ‘Elmo,’ ‘Hoots the Owl’ and ‘Baby Natasha,’ is Sesame Street's Senior Puppet Coordinator and Muppet Captain as well as Sesame Workshop's Senior Creative Consultant. He began building puppets at the age of 10 and performed on Baltimore's Harbor Front and local television as a teenager. Clash's first television work was for the CBS affiliate in Baltimore.  

 

He came to Sesame Street after attracting the attention of Muppet designer Kermit Love. Clash's film credits include Jim Henson's 1986 fantasy film, Labyrinth, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I and II, Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets from Space, and Elmo in Grouchland. His television work includes The Great Space Coaster, Captain Kangaroo, Dinosaurs and Muppets Tonight. He also was Co-Executive Producer for Elmopalooza, CinderElmo, and Elmo's World; Co-Producer for The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland; and also directs Sesame Street episodes and other projects. Clash directed and Co-Produced the DVD series Sesame Beginnings for Sesame Workshop. Moreover, he directed and was Co-Producer for Sesame Workshop's outreach DVD: Talk, Listen, Connect II: Deployments, Homecomings and Changes. His most recent work includes directing and appearing in Phase III of Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Children Cope with the Death of a Loved One.

 

Clash won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for his work as Elmo in Seasons 21, 35-37, and 39 and in 2001-2008 for his work as Co-Executive Producer for Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series. In September 2006, Clash released his autobiography, My Life As A Furry Red Monster, What Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love, and Laughing Out Loud.

 

Sharon Lynn Kagan, Ed.D.

Sharon Lynn Kagan is the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy and Co-Director of the National Center for Children and Families at Teachers College, Columbia University and Professor Adjunct at Yale University's Child Study Center. Scholar, pioneer, leader, and advocate, Dr. Kagan has helped shape early childhood practice and policies in the United States and in countries throughout the world. Author of 225 articles and 13 books, Kagan's research focuses on the institutions that impact child and family life. She consults with numerous international, federal and state agencies, congress, governors, and legislatures, is a member of 40 national boards and panels, and is a Past President of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and Family Support America. She is currently working around the globe with UNICEF to establish early learning standards in Armenia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ghana, Jordan, Mongolia, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, and Viet Nam. She was made a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in 2010 and is the only woman in the history of American Education to receive its three most prestigious awards: the 2004 Distinguished Service Award from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), the 2005 James Bryant Conant Award for Lifetime Service to Education from the Education Commission of the States (ECS), and the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education.

 

Jeffrey Hale

Jeff Hale is an animator, artist, raconteur, Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee. Long before YouTube brought mash-ups to the masses, Hale made animation history with "Thank You, Mask Man," using recordings of a controversial routine by comedian Lenny Bruce. His theatrical work includes Christmas Cracker, which he directed for The National Film Board of Canada. In 1964, he received an Academy Award nomination for “Christmas Cracker” in the Best Animated Short Film category. In 1985 and 1986, Hale received two Emmy Awards for Best Animation Director for Jim Henson’s The Muppet Babies. Hale is best known for his over 30 year career creating animations for Sesame Street, including the famed Pinball Number Count.