Sonia Manzano to speak at Simmons Leadership Conference

‘Sesame Street’ actress one of first leading Latina women on television

Colette Greenstein

Colette Greenstein has been a contributing arts & entertainment writer for the Banner since 2009. VIEW BIO

Best known for her role as Maria on PBS’ groundbreaking children’s series “Sesame Street,” actress Sonia Manzano is one of the signature session speakers at this year’s Simmons Leadership Conference. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the professional development conference will be held virtually for the first time in its continuous 41-year history, on April 16.

Powered by Cisco and Vbrick, the virtual main stage offers registered participants the opportunity to listen to panel discussions, engage in moderated question-and-answer sessions, and participate in live polling. The conference begins at 9:00 a.m. with welcoming remarks by Emmy Award-winning journalist Joyce Kulhawick, followed by keynote addresses, signature sessions and business panels.

Emmy Award-winning actress Sonia Manzano joins a powerful lineup of accomplished women that includes Serena Williams, tennis champion, activist and entrepreneur; Pat Mitchell, media pioneer and former CEO of PBS and CNN Productions; and Muffet McGraw, head coach for Notre Dame’s women’s basketball team. Each will discuss what this year’s theme of “Defining Power” means to them.

Manzano, a South Bronx native of Puerto Rican descent, was one of the first leading Latina women on television, having joined the PBS series in 1971. Coming of age against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement and the turmoil of the 1960s, Manzano instinctively understood the importance of representation.

As a young child, she grew up in a chaotic home with an alcoholic and abusive father who battered her mother. She found herself escaping the instability of her household and finding solace through television and the shows “Father Knows Best” and “Leave It to Beaver.”

“I wondered about that world, and I wondered how I would contribute to a society that didn’t see me,” recalls Manzano, speaking by phone earlier this month. “People would ask you what you wanted to be when you grew up and you had no idea. There were no Latin teachers or doctors. You just didn’t see any images of yourself. There were ‘Dick and Jane’ books at school.”

“Sesame Street” was one of the first television programs to boldly feature a more representative world. Manzano was a college student at the time and was excited to see people of color sitting on an inner-city stoop on the children’s program, similar to her experience growing up in the South Bronx.

At age 21, the actress, whose professional career began with a starring role in the off-Broadway production of “Godspell,” landed the role of Maria Rodriguez.

“When I got on Sesame Street, I always remembered that there might be a kid that was in the same situation I was, looking for comfort on television, and I knew it was bigger than letters or numbers,” says Manzano. “I knew it was an oasis of peace, an oasis of communication through television. And that was an intriguing concept to me.”

And for 44 years, until she retired from the long-running children’s series in 2015, Manzano made sure she accurately represented the Latino community. “As an actor, I quickly realized that was probably the least powerful role you could have, unless you’re Meryl Streep, being in front of the camera,” says Manzano. “I wanted to contribute more, and I started doing it behind the camera. The writing is where the power lay.”

As part of the show’s writing team, the actress and educator won 15 Emmy Awards. She also authored several children’s books, as well as her 2015 memoir, “Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx,” and was recognized with a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. Manzano continues to be a beacon of light and hope in educating children and youth through her national speaking engagements.