Julie Ann Sipos

First appearing on stage as a singing bunny in "Little Red Riding Hood," Julie Ann Sipos devoted childhood summers to the California State University Northridge (CSUN) Teenage Drama Workshops. At 14, she began appearing as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I at the Southern California Renaissance Faires. Just out of college at Tulane University, she co-founded a comedy improv club, appeared in dozens of TV commercials and made her network television debut guest starring as assistant D.A. Freida Lewis on Miami Vice (1984). She was selected to study the half-hour sitcom format in the prestigious Warner Brothers Writers Workshop; became a writer for the cult classic Disney's Recess (1997); and in 2004 earned her MFA in screenwriting at UCLA. While climbing the ranks from apprentice to executive, she's developed, written and produced iconic entertainment franchises for global brands including Universal, Disney/Pixar and Mattel. Her novel interactive experiences helped launch the 24-hour Disney Junior network to historic success; and drove record box office for Up (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Cars 2 (2011), Tangled (2010) and The Princess and the Frog (2009). She is known in part for her association with American Girl, where she introduced the brand to original music and animation; led development and production of the YouTube series Z. Crew (2015) and WellieWishers (2016) for Amazon Prime Kids; and oversaw contemporary and historical character franchises, features, series, specials, digital shorts, live theatrical and retail events. She teaches in the Department of Cinema & Television Arts at CSUN, where she oversees internships and entertainment industry education and outreach; and sits on the Children's Programming Peer Group Executive Committee at the Television Academy.