at Nickelodeon Online, where she created the first fully interactive experiences for Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer and other notable kids shows. As vice president of production at Sesame Workshop, Branch-Ridley produced educational programming for pre-kindergarteners and earned a Daytime Emmy Award for her digital media work on the relaunch of The Electric Company, based on the popular television show from the 1970s. In 2013, Branch-Ridley joined the Hispanic Information and Television Network, where she led the development of a system of bilingual transmedia resources for Hispanic preschool children under a $30 million U.S. Department of Education Ready To Learn grant. Following the release of the 16 Pocoyo Playset apps, which received Parents’ Choice and Kidscreen awards, she turned her attention to deriving a new line of bilingual preschool learning resources from the grant-funded work. Under her leadership, the initial series of bilingual Cleo & Cuquin Family Fun! math learning kits and apps were developed. Branch-Ridley’s honors include two Emmy Awards, a Multiethnic TV Leadership Award, and Syracuse University’s Arents Award for Excellence in Media and Education. She is survived by her husband, Jonathan; children Nya, Olivia and Jonathan; and her sister, Gabrielle Branch.
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Felix E. Cochren Jr., of Syracuse, associate professor of theater design and technology in the College of Visual and Performing Arts Department of Drama, died April 26. A Syracuse native, Cochren joined Syracuse University in 2002. Beloved by his students and colleagues, he was recognized for teaching excellence with the college’s Outstanding Faculty Award in the 2007-08 academic year. A scenic and costume designer, Cochren attended Carnegie Mellon University and was an associate member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829, New York. His New York credits included Broadway productions of Home, Inacent Black and Amen Corner and off-Broadway productions of A Soldier’s Play, A Brief History of White Music and Lotto. Cochren was honored with the Black Theatre Network’s Winona Fletcher Award for Excellence in Design, six St. Louis Black Rep’s Woodie King Awards, seven AUDELCO Awards (New York City), a Cleveland Newspapers Tribute, a Detroit Free Press Award, nominations for Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award and BTAA Award, a shared Obie Award for Black Nativity and the first award for Outstanding Scenic Design from the National Black Theatre Festival. In 2017 he was honored as a “Torch Bearer for Black Theatre” and participated in the Passing of the Torch Ceremony in New York City.
