Fast Company listed Sherrie Westin on their annual ‘100 Most Creative People in Business’. D3 and Sesame Workshop collaborated to design survey methods that would provide the best data to create Zari, the groundbreaking Afghan Muppet.

“Zari is a 6-year-old girl who loves to learn, aspires to be a doctor—and is bright purple. She’s Sesame Workshop’s first Afghan Muppet, introduced last year on Baghch-e-Simsim (Sesame Garden), which airs throughout Afghanistan. The hijab-wearing Muppet is the brainchild of Sherrie Westin, who works with NGOs and international production partners to identify ways to educate preschool children and their families in post-conflict areas. In a country where female literacy hovers at 24%, Zari’s lessons can change attitudes: Research conducted by the State Department (a funder of the project) has shown that fathers who watch the program cite it as the reason they permit their daughters to attend school. “Our ability to reach adults in a nonthreatening way gives us a tremendous opportunity to plant the seeds for cultural change,” says Westin. In January. She began working with the International Rescue Committee to create content tailored to the experiences and needs of children in refugee camps. The program is currently being piloted in Jordan and will roll out to other countries next year.”

The full article can be read in the June 2017 Edition of Fast Company Magazine.