CWK owns the nation’s largest non-fiction video library and proprietary streaming platform that includes hundreds of original programs and curated partner content, thousands of lesson plans, family guides, professional development materials, and more.
ABOUT US
At CWK, we dig deeper!
Our work is built on six key pillars that are the foundation of our dynamic strategy, the heart of which is the concept of “storytruths” that highlight “authentic intelligence” – where true wisdom is revealed through genuine stories that integrate knowledge and compassion.
That foundation, combined with our evidence-based approach that embraces peer-to-peer interaction, mutual support, youth voices, and creative storytelling, transforms film, television and multimedia content into compelling lifelong resources. Independent research validates the positive behavior changes ignited by our resources, earning CWK Network recognition by educational entities and industry peers. Learn more about our educational designations and awards here.
At CWK, we dig deeper!
Our work is built on six key pillars that are the foundation of our dynamic strategy, the heart of which is the concept of “storytruths” that highlight “authentic intelligence” – where true wisdom is revealed through genuine stories that integrate knowledge and compassion.
That foundation, combined with our evidence-based approach that embraces peer-to-peer interaction, mutual support, youth voices, and creative storytelling, transforms film, television and multimedia content into compelling lifelong resources. Independent research validates the positive behavior changes ignited by our resources, earning CWK Network recognition by educational entities and industry peers. Learn more about our educational designations and awards here.
MEET OUR TEAM
Stacey DeWitt | Chief Executive Officer
Sam DeWitt | Chief Financial Officer
Dutch Bickley | Chief Media Officer
Tammie Workman | Educator in Chief
Adam Wilkenfeld | Head of Content
Keith DeWitt | Creative Director
Karen Ford | Lead Designer
Coles Prince | Associate Producer
Bill Goodman | Comunications Director
Dino Quaglietta | Director of Photography
Nate Priest | Editor
Darion Allen | Assistant Producer
Paul Forbes | Education Partnerships
Haley Marshall | Production Coordinator
Shani Perez-Anthony | Educational Consultant
Simeon Sessley | Corporate Strategy
Troy Keller | Educational Consultant
Francheska Starks | Educational Consultant
Tara Kirton | Educational Consultant
MK Largent | Executive Assistant
Megan Rankin | Research Assistant
OUR HISTORY
CWK Network was born from Connect With Kids, founded by Stacey and Sam DeWitt in 1997.
Stacey, a broadcast journalist and attorney who worked with disadvantaged children, and Sam, an entrepreneur who had recently sold a successful gourmet food company, wanted to create a joint venture that would impact social change and improve the lives of children.
Forming a partnership with a local ABC television station in Little Rock, Arkansas, the DeWitts began producing news programming for parents on social and emotional issues in exchange for the station’s commitment to broadcast the programs in regularly scheduled time-slots. Within a month, television stations in surrounding cities began licensing the service and the first educational components were added to a small internet site where parents and educators could download print resources and discussion questions for students.
Nationwide, syndicated distribution quicky followed and the DeWitts moved the company to Atlanta, a top-10 television market and regional hub, to produce a full television series, ultimately including five news reports each week, eight half-hour documentary specials a year and a corresponding educational curriculum for schools on social and emotional learning. Over the next decade, CWK produced and distributed the show to over 70 ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox television stations reaching over 55 million households annually.
Under Stacey DeWitt’s leadership, CWK Network has expanded their approach to cross-platform storytelling and established the elevated engagement space, while growing the CWK archive into the nation’s largest film library of original content focused on improving social and emotional wellness for youth and adults. This extensive collection includes hundreds of documentaries, thousands of short video clips, and corresponding texts for lifelong learning. CWK Network also continues to add to their impressive list of industry awards, educational designations and grants.
Today, CWK Network is a media and education company that continues to use the power of storytelling to create a vibrant specialty marketplace of elevated engagement programming that improves the social and emotional lives of millions of students, adults and families. We believe that cross-platform storytelling combined with educational resources can improve communities and transform the world.
OUR HISTORY
The Connect with Kids Network (CWK) was formed in 1997 by Sam and Stacey DeWitt.
Stacey was a broadcast journalist and attorney who worked with disadvantaged children. Sam was an entrepreneur who had recently sold a successful gourmet food company. As new parents and social entrepreneurs at heart, they wanted to create a joint venture that would impact social change and improve the lives of children.
Through her work, Stacey gained a deep understanding of the power of media, the influence of storytelling and the positive impact of social and emotional learning on troubled youth and their families. Sam had developed the financial and operational skills necessary to build a strong company. When the two were asked by a local television station to invest in and produce a series of programs for parents, they embraced the opportunity.
The DeWitts formed a partnership with a local ABC television station in Little Rock, Arkansas agreeing to produce news programming for parents on social and emotional issues in exchange for the station’s commitment to broadcast the programs in regularly scheduled time-slots. Within a month, television stations in surrounding cities began licensing the service and the first educational components were added to a small Internet site where parents and educators could download print resources and discussion questions for students.
Within a year, a national syndication team offered to distribute the programming nationwide and the DeWitts moved the company to Atlanta, a top-10 television market and regional hub, to produce a full television series that would ultimately include five news reports each week, eight half-hour documentary specials a year and a corresponding educational curriculum on social and emotional learning distributed in schools.
In September 1998, the company’s flagship, Emmy-award winning Connect with Kids documentary series was born. Over the next decade, CWK produced and distributed it to over 70 ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox television stations reaching over 55 million households annually. During that time, the company added research and educational consultants as well as additional investors. CWK simultaneously produced classroom curricula and professional development for schools and measured the efficacy of those programs winning designations from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin. (SAMHSA). The company also developed an innovative social action strategy that partnered with local television stations, school districts and corporate partners to create educational campaigns on issues like school attendance, character development and bullying and violence prevention.
Today’s CWK is an educational media company that continues to use the power of storytelling to improve the social and emotional lives of millions of families in local communities. We believe that visual storytelling combined with educational resources can improve communities and transform the world.