THE PEABODY AWARDS TO HONOR AMY POEHLER WITH CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, STERLIN HARJO WITH TRAILBLAZER AWARD, AND PBS KIDS WITH INSTITUTIONAL AWARD AS AWARDS PROGRAM GEARS UP FOR MAY 31 CEREMONY HONORING STORIES THAT MATTER
CHRIS BANNON AND AYMAR JEAN “AJ” ESCOFFERY JOIN THE PEABODY AWARDS’ BOARD OF JURORS, KUDZI CHIKUMBU JOINS THE INTERACTIVE BOARD OF JURORS, CURRENT JUROR MICHAEL ISIP UPPED TO 2026 BOARD CHAIR
Athens, GA (March 18, 2026) – The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors announced today that multi-award-winning actress and podcast host Amy Poehler will be honored with the Peabody Career Achievement Award; award-winning director, producer, and screenwriter Sterlin Harjo will be honored with the Peabody Trailblazer Award; and historic programmer PBS KIDS will be honored with the Peabody Institutional Award. Poehler, Harjo, and PBS KIDS will be celebrated at the 86th annual Peabody Awards ceremony on May 31, 2026 in Beverly Hills. Additionally, industry leaders Chris Bannon, Former Head of Podcasts at Condé Nast and Aymar Jean Escoffery, Professor of Communication Studies, Northwestern University, have joined the Board of Jurors of the Peabody Awards, juror Michael Isip, President & CEO, KQED is the 2026 Board Chair, and Kudzi Chikumbu, Vice President of Creator Partnerships at Tubi, joins the Interactive Board of Jurors.
“These honorees represent the very best of storytelling in media and the profound impact it can have on culture,” said Jeffrey Jones, Executive Director of the Peabody Awards. “Amy Poehler has built a remarkable career bringing intelligence, humor, and fearless creativity to work that continues to shape comedy and inspire audiences. Sterlin Harjo has expanded the possibilities of television with work that is both deeply personal and culturally groundbreaking, with overdue stories and voices Americans have long ignored. And for decades, PBS KIDS has set the gold standard for educational children’s media, creating thoughtful, enriching stories that continue to shape how young audiences learn, grow, and understand the world. We’re proud to recognize each of them for their lasting impact on the media landscape.”
The Career Achievement Award recognizes an individual whose exceptional body of work and creative contributions have made a significant impact on media and culture. Previous recipients include Andrea Mitchell, Mel Brooks, and Sam Pollard.
Amy Poehler is one of Hollywood’s most versatile and sought-after talents, with credits that include actress, writer, director, executive producer, New York Times bestselling author, host, and founder of Paper Kite Productions. She is currently in production on an all-new comedy series, “Dig,” for Peacock, reuniting with “Parks and Recreation” co-creator Mike Schur. Poehler will star in, co-write, and co-produce the series, which centers on a group of women at an archaeological dig in Greece who uncover a buried secret. Last year, she launched her chart-topping video podcast, “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” in partnership with Spotify’s The Ringer and the audio division of Paper Kite Productions. The podcast won the inaugural Best Podcast award at the 2026 Golden Globe Awards.
Among her extensive body of work, she is a nine-time Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner for NBC’s hit comedy series “Parks and Recreation,” in which she starred and served as a writer and producer. She had an iconic eight-season run on “Saturday Night Live,” which earned her three Emmy nominations, including being the first SNL star nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She went on to win an Emmy in 2016 for co-hosting the show with Fey. In 2024, she reprised her role of “Joy,” the leading emotion in Disney’s critically acclaimed sequel “Inside Out 2,” which became the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
Through Paper Kite Productions, Poehler has produced a multitude of projects within the cultural zeitgeist including the hit Comedy Central series “Broad City; Netflix’s Wine Country,” which marked her feature directorial debut; Amazon’s Emmy-winning documentary “Lucy & Desi,” her documentary directorial debut; Netflix’s Emmy-nominated series “Russian Doll;” Amazon’s “Harlem;” Adult Swim’s “Three Busy Debras;” Peacock’s unscripted series “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning” and “Baking It;” NBC’s “Making It;” FOX’s animated series “Duncanville;” Roku’s First Time Female Director; and Netflix’s “Moxie,” which she directed and starred in. On the audio front, Paper Kite also produced the scripted series “Say More with Dr? Sheila,” featuring Amy as the titular character, “The Chris Chatman Do-Over,” and “Women Talkin’ ‘Bout Murder.”
Additional acting credits include “The House, Sisters,” “Wet Hot American Summer,” “They Came Together,” “Are You Here,” “Baby Mama,” “Blades of Glory,” and “Mean Girls.” She has lent her voice to several hit-animated features, including “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” “Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Horton Hears a Who!,” “Shrek the Third,” and Disney Pixar’s Oscar-winning animated film “Inside Out.”
Before starring on SNL, Poehler co-founded the famed sketch comedy troupe, the Upright Citizens Brigade. She currently splits time between Los Angeles and New York.
The Trailblazer Award recognizes visionaries whose innovative storytelling styles impact culture and effect social change. Previous recipients include Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Quinta Brunson, and inaugural winner Issa Rae.
Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Mvskoke) is a MacArthur Genius award-winner, writer, director, and showrunner from Holdenville, Oklahoma. Most recently, Sterlin created, wrote, directed and is the executive producer of “The Lowdown,” currently airing on FX and Hulu, starring Ethan Hawke. Previously, he was the showrunner, co-creator with Taika Waititi and director of “Reservation Dogs” for FX. The series ran for three seasons and received numerous awards including a Gotham Award, two Peabody Awards, two Independent Spirit Awards and honors from the Television Academy.
The Institutional Award recognizes institutions and organizations, as well as series and programs, for their enduring body of work and their lasting impact on the media landscape and the public imagination. Previous recipients include “Saturday Night Live,” “Fresh Air with Terry Gross” and “60 Minutes.”
PBS KIDS, the children’s educational media brand of the Public Broadcasting Service, serves young audiences across the United States through trusted and research-backed streaming and on-air content, award-winning games, and community-based initiatives. Since the launch of PBS KIDS as a dedicated programming block in 1999, the brand has become a central presence in public broadcasting, building on earlier children’s programming created by pioneers such as Fred Rogers and Jim Henson. Its programming for children ages two to eight includes series such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Carl the Collector, Wild Kratts, and Alma’s Way, alongside a wide range of educational games and resources for parents, caregivers, and teachers. A cornerstone of the PBS KIDS mission is to support children’s learning anytime, anywhere through its partnership with local PBS stations across the country to ensure this programming and interactive learning content is available for free to families everywhere.
The Peabody Board of Jurors is comprised of media industry professionals, as well as journalists, critics and scholars, appointed to six-year terms. All programs that are nominated and win Peabody Awards must receive a unanimous vote by the Board of Jurors. Bannon and Escoffery have joined the Board of Jurors, Chikumbu has joined the Interactive Board of Jurors, and current juror Isip will serve as the new Board Chair of 2026.
Chris Bannon has worked in audio for more than 35 years, starting as an overnight jazz host and Program Director on WBRU-FM in Providence, RI. Bannon has led the development and production of everything from live radio comedy to breaking news and long-form documentaries. From 2021-25, he served as the first Head of Global Audio for Conde Nast Entertainment, creating new programming for The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Bon Appetit, Wired, and Vogue, among other distinguished brands. From 2015-2020, he served as Chief Content Officer at podcast powerhouse Stitcher, where he launched a diverse set of audience favorites, including Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Office Ladies, The Dream, Heaven’s Gate, LeVar Burton Reads, Marvel’s Wolverine, Science Rules! with Bill Nye, Bitch Sesh, and Chris Gethard’s Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People. As Program Director and VP of Content at WNYC, the country’s largest public radio station, he led new show development and launched Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, and Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin, among others. His productions have received 5 Peabody Awards, and a 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Audio for Season 3 of In the Dark. Bannon is a graduate of Brown University, where he served for nearly a decade on the board of WBRU, the university’s student-run media lab. He received an M.A. in English from the University of North Carolina, and has taught creative writing at Columbia University’s School of the Arts graduate writing program, as well as courses in podcasting at CUNY’s Newmark School of Journalism.
Dr. Aymar Jean “AJ” Escoffery is the Margaret Walker Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, Faculty Director of the MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises, and Faculty Associate at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center. He is the author of Open TV: Innovation Beyond Hollywood and the Rise of Web Television, Reparative Media: Cultivating Stories and Platforms to Heal our Culture, and The Cookout: A Guide to AI: Ancestral Intelligence. He is the co-author of Media Reparations and Beyond the Screen: A Decade of Unfiltered Storytelling, which chronicles 10 years of his OTV project. His research & development has been supported by the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, MacArthur Foundation, and Wallace Foundation, among others. Dr. Escoffery has given lectures for and collaborated with the Sundance Institute, Vimeo, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Black Public Media, and more. He previously served on the Peabody Interactive & Immersive board, as well as juried television for Gotham Awards, and Tribeca Film Festival, among others. His work has been recognized by the MacArthur Foundation & Field Foundation (Leaders for a New Chicago, 2019), Variety (Top 50 Entertainment Instructor 2020 & 2021), Filmmaker (25 New Faces of Indie Film, 2018) NewCity (Film Leader 2017 & Film Hall of Fame 2020), Chicago magazine (New Power List, 2021) and Seed&Spark (Filmmaker to Watch 2018).
Dr. Escoffery co-founded OTV | Open Television, a platform for intersectional television. OTV programs have received recognition from the Television Academy (Emmy Awards), Webby Awards, Streamy Awards, Gotham Awards, among others. Its programming partners have included the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Sundance Institute, and the city of Chicago, along with numerous galleries, community organizations, and universities. Building on the success of OTV, he co-founded an incubator for intersectional film & television, with Stephanie Jeter and Lilly Wachowski (The Matrix, Sense8, Work in Progress). He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania.
Kudzi Chikumbu is the Vice President of Creator Partnerships at Tubi where he works to build a bridge to Hollywood for content creators through content licensing, development and partnerships. As an experienced leader in digital storytelling, and entertainment, Kudzi has worked with and developed the careers of thousands of creators over his time in the creator economy. At heart, Kudzi is a creator advocate with a proven ability to bridge emerging talent and major platforms. His work has earned him accolades including Fortune’s 40 Under 40, The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen, Variety’s Hollywood’s New Leaders, and AdWeek’s Experiential Executive of the Year.
Born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, Kudzi brings a global perspective to his work. He began his career as a consultant at Deloitte before earning his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, then went on to lead transformative creator initiatives at TikTok spanning partnerships, education, product marketing, and experiential activations. Today, Kudzi continues to champion the intersection of technology and entertainment—empowering creators to evolve from short-form content to premium storytelling. Whether mentoring talent or building new platforms, he brings clarity, warmth, and a bold point of view on the future of entertainment in a creator-led world.
Michael Isip is President & CEO of KQED, the San Francisco Bay Area’s PBS and NPR media resource. Isip has a quarter century of media experience and has played a critical role in KQED’s growth and transformation into a multimedia organization. He joined KQED in 2001 as a Television Executive Producer and has served in a number of senior roles, including Senior VP & Chief Content Officer and Executive VP & Chief Operating Officer. Prior to KQED, Isip led production at KVIE Public Television, Sacramento. He started his career at WLS-TV, Chicago. Isip is a senior fellow for the American Leadership Forum — Silicon Valley and serves on the boards of Public Radio Exchange, American Documentary Inc., Joint Venture Silicon Valley, and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Isip has a B.A. from Cornell University and a J.D. from DePaul College of Law.
Past Peabody Award winners include some of the most beloved and groundbreaking series of all time, including “Hill Street Blues,” “Murphy Brown,” “The Wire,” “Veep,” “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Office” and “Succession,” and limited/mini-series including “Roots,” “Tales of the City,” “Chernobyl,” and “Dopesick.” Children’s and youth honorees have included “ABC Afterschool Specials,” “Bluey” and “Doc McStuffins,” while landmark educational programs such as “Cosmos” and “NOVA” have also been honored. Peabody began recognizing Interactive and Immersive Media in 2021, with organizations such as The New Yorker, The Washington Post and The New York Times receiving honors. The Peabody Awards precede The Emmy Awards as the longest-running awards program to honor how television/broadcasting, and now digital and podcast programming, can have positive effects on society.
Nominees for the 2026 Peabody Awards will be announced on April 7 and April 9 with winners announced later that month. The 2026 ceremony will take place May 31, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. The award-winning Peabody podcast “We Disrupt This Broadcast,” co-produced and co-directed with The Center for Media & Social Impact, is distributed by public media organization PRX, and available on-demand across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart and Overcast. For more information, please visit peabodyawards.com.
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ABOUT THE PEABODY AWARDS
The Peabody Awards is celebrating 86 years of honoring stories that defend public interest, encourage empathy and expand our understanding of the world. Respected for its integrity and revered for its standards of excellence, the Peabody is an honor like no other for television, podcast/radio, and immersive and interactive media. Chosen each year by a diverse Board of Jurors through unanimous vote, Peabody Awards are given in the categories of entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, and public service programming. The annual Peabody winners are a collection of stories that powerfully reflect the pressing social issues and vibrant emerging voices of our day. From major productions to local journalism, the Peabody Awards shine a light on the Stories That Matter and are a testament to the power of art and reportage in the push for truth, social justice, and equity. The Peabody Awards were founded in 1940 at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia and remain there today. The Peabody Awards also produces the award-winning podcast “We Disrupt This Broadcast,” available on all major podcast platforms. For more information, visit peabodyawards.com to sign up for our newsletter.
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