About
FOUNDER:
Nava R. Silton, Ph.D. is a Developmental Psychologist with a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Fordham University. She is a Full Professor at Marymount Manhattan College, where she teaches classes in Child Development, Cognition, Personality, Creativity, Children’s Media and has won numerous teaching, research and advising awards. She has worked at Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, and Mediakidz, and has consulted for Disney, Netflix, Apple, Blue’s Clues & You, 9Story Media Group and The Autism Seaver Center. She also serves as a Developmental Psychologist for Gan Aliya and Manhattan Day School. She appears regularly on Fox 5 News as a Psychological Correspondent, and has appeared on Good Day New York, Good Day Street Talk and NBC. Silton has written over 36 peer-reviewed journal articles, over 20 chapters, book reviews and encyclopedia entries and has edited seven full textbooks. Her first two books discuss innovative technologies for individuals with autism and other disabilities, her third delves into creativity, her fourth into family dynamics and romantic relationships, her fifth explores the constructs of happiness, gratitude, kindness, empathy and well-being, her sixth text discusses best parenting and child development practices for the 21st century and her seventh discusses the impact of COVID-19 on children, adolescents and adults.
Silton also created the The Realabilities Educational Comic Book Series (www.realabilities.com), which offers 18 comics (12 on disabilities and 6 on mental health disorders) and two instructional manuals for use in classrooms across the world. The disabilities-based series, which received The Reader’s Favorite Award and was a Page Turner Awardee has now been translated into Hebrew and Spanish and is currently being translated into Chinese and French, as well. Due to the popularity of The Realabilities Educational Series in the schools, Silton created Addy & Uno, The First Family Musical about Disabilities, Bullying and Kindness. Addy & Uno, which was nominated for an Off-Broadway Alliance Award, ran Off-Broadway for over 18 months at Theatre Row on 42nd Street in Manhattan (www.addyanduno.com) and is now being developed by the Jim Henson Company for TV. In addition, Silton created a Child Development and Parenting Podcast, entitled A Cup of Java with Dr. Nava. She also created Bashert, a brand-new card game which helps individuals connect and forge meaningful relationships with others. Finally, Nava recently penned three feature screenplays, Pure, The Prof and Jackpot. All three screenplays have already achieved significant recognition (Finalist, Semifinalist and Quarterfinalist designations) in over a dozen screenplay contests. Most recently, Silton was identified as one of the Top 50 screenwriters on the ISA Fellowship slate. Silton is married to Dr. Ariel Brandwein and has five children; three boys and two little girls.
For more about Nava Silton and here work, Click Here
Series Development:
Jordan Geary, a creative producer, director, show creator, writer, and on-air personality, Jordan Geary has worked on several notable and award-winning children’s productions, including 3rd & Bird for Playhouse Disney, Wonderpets for Nickelodeon, Thumbwrestling Federation for Cartoon Network, and Kappa Mikey for Nicktoons. Jordan is currently President of the Children’s Media Association.
Ashley Fenwick- Naditch, is an Emmy Award-winning children’s media executive specialized in content development and strategy. She is currently the Managing Director of Children’s Media Consultants LLC, and has formerly held leadership posts at Sesame Workshop. Ashley was named on Digital Media Wire’s list of “25 Digital Entertainment Executives to Watch.”
Series Art:
Michael Scanlon began his career in children’s media in 2005. Over the last decade, he’s worked as a designer on a number of film, television, app, and publishing projects for clients such as Disney, Nickelodeon, FOX and CBeebies. He loves nothing more than to create fantastical worlds and the whimsical characters that inhabit them.
Christopher Gomez is a cartoonist/Illustrator who specializes in mainstream comics geared towards youth and young adults. With training in both computer technology and fine arts, he possesses ability in both traditional and digital mediums. He graduated with a degree in Cartooning from the School of Visual Arts and is our primary Comic Book Illustrator. His personal website is chrisgomezart.com and his webcomic: cambioncomic.tumblr.com.
Business Development & Branding:
Avery Toland, honed her Finance, E-commerce and Marketing skills in the international luxury goods industry abroad working in the Central Buying Office at Lane Crawford. Then came back to the United States in February 2013, to work for Chrome Hearts LLC, where she supported company President with Operational Management in New York and globally. Conducting extensive consumer trends and product research leading to the development of new product lines. Currently, she is on the graduate path of studying Industrial Organizational Psychology.
Research Team:
Through the years, the following students have contributed and continue to contribute invaluably to the research success of Realabilities:
Senada Arucevic, Alicia Ferris, Kristina Keyser, Carol Wagner, Avery Toland, Michael Corning, Michael Rojas, Danielle Schlough, Jennifer Santamaria, Rebecca Ruchlin, Rachel Hout, Vanessa Norkus, and Emily Hotez.
“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
-Mahatma Gandhi