Speaking On: Toys, Learning, & Play Summit on Feb. 17th
Stephen Gass is an innovator in the field of children’s media. His experience includes over 20 years in the design, development and distribution of learning products, including computer software, online applications, toys, games, books and video. Trained as a child psychologist, Gass began his career teaching science, language arts, and crafts at the elementary level. He served as Director of Education for the Sesame Street theme park, Sesame Place; a founding editor of Electronic Learning Magazine; and Editorial Director of the CBS Interactive Learning Unit. As Vice President of Research and Development at Coleco, Gass launched an educational toy division. In his role as Senior Vice President of Product Development for Viacom New Media, he built and managed a team of 30 people whose responsibilities included planning, acquisition, development and production of CD-ROMs and console games for Viacom’s entry into the software entertainment market. He also served as a senior creative executive for Viacom’s research and development efforts in the home learning market, including its initial explorations for the learning network, Noggin. Prior to launching Every Baby Company, Gass held the position of Group President, Online at Sesame Workshop.
Currently, Gass serves as president of every baby company, inc., an organization he founded for the development of early learning products, the first of which is eebee’s adventures™. He has also served as the principal of The Gass Company, a children’s media strategy and production studio he founded in 1988, serving clients including: All Kinds of Minds, American Museum of Natural History, Cisneros Television Group, Citibank, Discovery Communications, Houghton Mifflin, IBM, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Saatchi & Saatchi, Sesame Workshop, Simon & Schuster and Tiger Electronics. Gass served as co-director of the Markle Foundation Forum on Children and Media. As an adjunct faculty member at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, he created and taught a course on child development and interactive design. Gass is a member of the Education Committee of the board of trustees at PBS-affiliate WNET/Thirteen as well as a trustee of the Toy Industry Foundation and served as an advisor to the Sandbox Summit.
Gass received a B.A. in psychology from New York University, an M.A. in developmental psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and completed work toward a Ph.D. in educational psychology at The City University of New York.