Arcadian VP of Nickelodeon

Arcadia High School grad Jill Sanford (formerly Jill Stewart) has been named Vice President of animation development at Nickelodeon.

Jill Sanford with dad Larry Stewart.

Sanford, daughter of Larry Stewart, who blogs for ArcadiaPatch.com, has been the subject of previous profiles on ArcadiasBest.com in her former role as director of original series in TV animation at The Disney Channel, where she was the lead current series executive for the enormously popular “Phineas and Ferb” and “Fish Hooks” animated series and other projects in development. She was at Disney for nine years before moving to rival cable network Nickelodeon, where she will oversee the animation department’s creative and production from concept to pilot. Nickelodeon has been losing ground to Disney in recent years.

Her new job will include research and development of show ideas and oversight of scripts, creative, legal, casting and staffing for pilots. She will also help oversee the comedy shorts program and partner with Nick’s short-form development team in pursuit of new content.

“Jill’s creative expertise and proven track record of overseeing animated hits makes her a terrific addition to the Nickelodeon animation team,” said Nickelodeon Group senior animation development veep Jenna Boyd, to whom Sanford will report. “Her keen eye for identifying unique ideas and talent will be a huge asset as we continue to grow our hit Nick animation brand.”

Sanford was a member of the 1996 AHS Constitution Team.

— By Scott Hettrick