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Renée Cherow-O’Leary, PhD

Renée Cherow-O’Leary

Renée Cherow-O’Leary, PhD, since 1995, she serves as Founder and President of Education for the 21st Century, a media consulting group in New York City (web site under construction), developing educational materials primarily for children, parents and teachers in multiple platforms: print, television, online, blogs, and currently in gaming and virtual worlds. Clients include Disney Channel and other Disney initiatives, PBS Kids Sprout (Comcast), Word World and Word Box, and market research firms for educational research projects.  Most recently, she served as Professor of English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University (2003-present) with subject expertise in cultural and media studies, including Technologies and Literacies, Media Literacy, and Popular Texts in the Classroom.

 In spring, 2007, she was selected to be a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University in interdisciplinary studies in education including arts in education at the Graduate School of Education, entrepreneurship and education reform at the Harvard Business School, and the program in religious studies in education at the Divinity School.  She presents at major academic conferences and is the creator and was host of an online educational talk show at Teachers College, Peer Review, conducting interviews with key educational researchers and policy makers.   Prior to her recent tenure at Teachers College, she was professor of Media Studies and Journalism at Rutgers University- Newark campus and a faculty member at Ramapo College of New Jersey, City College of New York, and New York University. Throughout her career, she has created a wide range of academic courses, symposia, and lecture series on innovative educational topics presenting both nationally and globally.

 Dr. Cherow’s early career was as a newspaper reporter and in children’s book publishing at Sesame Street/Children’s Television Workshop as Director of Research for the Magazine Group (1989-1995) with oversight for five publications targeted for children, parents and teachers.  In this capacity, she managed staff and budget and worked with members of the TV, software, products and others groups on extensive media projects.  As National Coordinator in 1995-1998 of the Creating Critical Viewers media literacy initiative of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, she linked broadcasters and educators in seventeen cities where NATAS had a presence.  She is an active member in many professional media groups—National Association of Media Literacy Education (June, 2007 leader of Research Summit for National Media Education Conference), member of the Association of Educational Publishers, on the Media Commission of the National Council of the Teachers of English, and the New York Women in Film and Television.   

 Dr. Cherow holds a BA in English and Philosophy, Barnard College, New York City, an M.A.T. English and Education, University of Chicago, and a PhD, Communications and Culture (Media Ecology), New York University.