Biography

Sherri serves as Director of the Center for Media and Information Literacy (CMIL) at Temple University, where she is Professor of Instruction in the Klein College of Media and Communication and directs the Certificate in Children’s Media. Sherri’s teaching and consulting explores the media industry and media literacy, with a focus on media for children. Sherri is a UNESCO Chair in Media and Information Literacy and serves as an academic and research representative on the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance Global Board. The Alliance is a “global collaborative network of organizations and individual experts committed to advancing policies, strategies, and practices that strengthen media and information literacy worldwide”.

Sherri was an educational advisor on the PBS Kids Media Literacy Framework and has worked on projects for TIME Studios, Fred Rogers Productions, Google Kids & Family, META, Prix Jeunesse, DCN Global, National Association for Media Literacy Education, Agents of Change video game, Public Journalism Club of Armenia, and Maryland Public Television.

Sherri was a Fulbright Global Scholar for 2022-2023. Her research explored best practice in developing quality media content for children with a focus on Brazil, Australia, United Kingdom and USA.

Her publications include the report, The Quality Question: Why Children's Media Must Aim High; a co-authored chapter in Media Literacy in a Disruptive Media Environment (2020) titled, “A Snapshot: the state of media literacy education in the US”; and a chapter in the latest edition of 20 Questions about Youth and the Media (2019) titled, “How are the needs of children considered in children’s media?”. She served as co-editor of the international yearbook on Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue for several years and as a 3-term president of the National Association for Media Literacy Education.

Sherri talks with kids about the influence of media in their lives on her podcast Kids Talk Media and discusses issues facing children's media and media literacy with guests on her television series, Media Inside Out. Sherri regularly presents internationally on media literacy and children’s media topics. She has given talks and presentations on five continents and over 20 countries and has moderated panels at major universities and conferences, including the Children’s Global Media Summit, World Summit on Media for Children, UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy conferences, International Media Literacy Research Symposium, National Association for Media Literacy

Education and UK Children’s Media Conference. She has been interviewed by major news outlets about media and children, including Variety, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Philadelphia Inquirer, Radio Times (NPR), and KQED Mindshift. She appeared in the documentary "Trust Me" from award-winning director Roko Belic.

Sherri has spent numerous semesters teaching abroad, including visiting faculty at Temple University Japan and Temple University Rome, as well as leading a London program for several years. Additional international teaching includes visiting professor at the University of Western Sydney in Australia and the Thessaloniki International Summer Media Academy in Greece. 

Sherri holds a master’s degree in public culture from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research explored the impact of children’s television on the social development of girls and their ability to form diverse friendships.

Sherri began her career as a television producer. She held various production and management positions over twenty-five years, including CEO of Independence Public Media Television in Philadelphia.