Alyssa Sapire is Senior Vice President of Development, Series, and Strategy at Disney Junior, and is responsible for all development and production of content for kids two to seven and their parents/caregivers. The Disney Junior slate includes original, Disney, Lucas, and Marvel branded series, shorts, and movie specials for Disney's linear channels and Disney+. She oversees Disney Junior's content strategy, building a slate that engages young audiences with rich, developmentally appropriate stories that have a touch of Disney magic.
Alyssa, who joined Disney in 2016, shepherded multiple Disney Junior-branded series including Superkitties, Pupstruction, Young Jedi Adventures, the hit series Spidey and His Amazing Friends, Mickey Mouse Funhouse, Vampirina, the Disney+ series Monsters at Work, inspired by the world of Disney and Pixar's Academy Award-winning Monsters, Inc., and the upcoming Ariel and Kindergarten: The Musical.
Championing emerging creative talent, Alyssa built a Disney Junior slate with the majority of projects led by diverse creators. This includes the noteworthy Rise Up, Sing Out musical animated series — with empowering, optimistic messages about race, culture, community, and celebrating differences — executive produced by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter of The Roots. Alyssa also steers talent relations for Disney Junior writers and producers through mentorship opportunities for several underrepresented writers, directors, and producers.
Her professional experience prior to Disney includes the role of VP of Development and Programming for FremantleMedia Kids and Family Group, overseeing live-action and animated series, including My Babysitter’s a Vampire, Russell T. Davies’ Wizards vs. Aliens, and the Danger Mouse reboot; 10 years at Nickelodeon where she helped launch Noggin and TeenNick with the groundbreaking Degrassi series and oversaw development and production of other award-winning series including the Peabody-winning A Walk In Your Shoes, and as a producer at Scholastic, overseeing award-winning TV and software projects for the I Spy franchise. She began her career in production and research for PBS/WNET TV science documentaries.
Born in Montreal, but raised in New Rochelle, New York, Alyssa received a BA in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has a Masters in Education from Columbia University. She is a mentor for Women in Animation, a mentor for The Walt Disney Company's Advocate Program, and a Team Captain for Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Cycle for Survival. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and their two children.
Featured in: 30 Minutes with… Alyssa Sapire and Kim Berglund, Disney Junior
