Deborah A. Forte
President, Scholastic Media (SM)
Executive Vice President, Scholastic Inc.
Deborah A. Forte is President of Scholastic Media (SM), Executive Vice President of Scholastic Inc. and an award-winning producer of children’s media, including movies, television programming, interactive games and learning software and web sites and a leading marketer of children’s brands.
A proven leader in the children’s media landscape, Scholastic Media ranks as one of the foremost producers of quality, family-oriented multiplatform content and is an award-winning marketer of children’s properties worldwide. Ms. Forte oversees Scholastic Media’s three main divisions: Scholastic Entertainment, Scholastic Marketing & Consumer Products and the highly successful Interactive Products Group consisting of retail software, video games, apps, and Click! Interactive Learning Club. Scholastic’s animation studios – Soup2Nuts, and Weston Woods are a part of the Scholastic Media portfolio. Ms. Forte serves as Scholastic Media’s lead creative and business executive.
Ms. Forte formed Scholastic Entertainment, now known as Scholastic Media, in 1997, creating the only full-scale, production, branding and merchandising division in the children’s publishing industry that successfully develops, produces and markets children’s media and brands for the global media marketplace.
She has executive produced more than 300 television productions including series such as: the top-rated Clifford The Big Red Dog™ and the Emmy award-winning spin-off series Clifford’s Puppy Days™; Dear AmericaÒ; the Emmy Award-winning I SPYÒ and The Magic School BusÒ series; AnimorphsÒ; GoosebumpsÒ and the critically acclaimed Word Girl series. Ms. Forte, is the creator and executive producer of the animated series Maya & Miguel™, which debuted to rave reviews. Based on an original concept by Ms. Forte, Maya & Miguel is at the core of a multi-media initiative designed to promote cultural diversity. Additional producing credits include the feature films: The Babysitters Club, The Mighty andTuck Everlasting. Ms. Forte produced for New Line/ Warner Bros.The Golden Compass, based on Philip Pullman’s best-selling trilogy, His Dark Materials, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. Ms. Forte’s productions have won more than 100 awards including Emmys, Parents Choice, Humanitas, and an Academy Award. The interactive games, software, and web sites currently managed under her direction have won dozens of awards and industry honors, including the Webby.
Ms. Forte serves on the board of the American Center for Children and Media, and is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, BAFTA, and The Producers Guild. Ms. Forte is a frequent speaker regarding the creation and development of children’s media and brands.
