Heather Tilert-Kazmark

Artist, Athlete, Change Agent, Connector, Idea generator, Parent, Producer

Heather is the Director of Kids + Family Series at Netflix. She spearheads the content strategy that ensures Netflix is a top choice for Gen Alpha. Tilert leads a team that keeps today’s biggest hits thriving while nurturing the next wave of culture-defining franchises. Heather works with talented artists, creators, and writers —from the Obamas' Higher Ground Productions, to the Sesame Street team, to Mark Rober's CrunchLabs, to new + emerging talent— to craft beloved characters and stories that will spark curiosity, model empathy, and inspire the next generation to be thoughtful, playful, and kind humans. Heather started her 20+ year career in kids’ tv as a production coordinator on The Wonder Pets!, and has been the voice of an animated seahorse, an Emmy-nominated producer, a writer, a creator, showrunner, and many things in between. Since joining Netflix in 2018, Heather + team’s slate has garnered over a hundred nominations and dozens of wins at such prestigious awards shows as the Daytime Emmys, BAFTA Awards, Kidscreen Awards, the Annie Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and the GLAAD Media Awards. As the world leans more digital (especially kids post-Covid!), Heather wants to facilitate deeper connections between people in real life and is working on practical ways to bring presence and tactile, hands-on experiences back into a digital-first world. Beyond that, Heather is a mother (to a 14yo + 12yo), a wife, a Pacific Crest Trail Thru-hiker (completed all 2,667 miles in 2010!) a dog-lover, a dreamer, an eldest daughter, a sister, an active listener, a too-candid oversharer, a ‘yes, and’ person, a forty-something who’s thinking about how best to use whatever time she has left (especially to create the conditions that will help her kids learn/experience specifics), someone who practices rotations of attention (and/or neglect) to get stuff done, and a recreational creative and tinkerer who's deeply curious about other people and what moves them.

Inspiring (and being inspired by) kids - the future leaders of the world. Truly connecting, and fostering connection between people. Hiking/nature/conservation. Leadership skills/improvement/innovation. Tactile arts/activities that pull people out of their head and into their bodies. Facilitating ways for people to be more present in their day-to-day. And I’m very passionate about anything that connects these various interests!

Kids can do much more than we give them credit for! Language shapes thought. Joy is contagious.

Animation, Backpacking, Creative Executive, Educational Content, Entertainment Industry, Hiking, Kids Television, Managing Creatives, Production

Reading the air. Backpacking (and getting pack weight down/helping people go Ultralight). Summer camp-style arts & crafts. Baking. Especially cutout holiday cookies.