When Mallory Mbalia was a little girl she dreamed of either being on the stage, being a pediatrician or being a veterinarian. With her passion for stories, performance and serving others, a career in early childhood education was a perfect fit. She received her B.S. in Human Development with a concentration in child and adolescent development from Howard University. She worked in a Pre K classroom in undergrad and then upon graduation started at a home child care teaching 3 year olds. She then taught kindergarten for several years and during those years she received her M.A.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction. From there she received her M.S.A. ,Masters of School Administration from NC State University and became an Elementary Assistant Principal.

Through all of her years in the education system Mallory had a second career in Public Media. She grew up with Mister Rogers Neighborhood and other great shows on PBS. She was an education trainer for her local PBS station PBS NC for over 10 years before she made the full transition to Public Media full time. She was then the Director of Education at PBS NC. She is a proud wife of an author and a mother 4. She has a passion for early childhood education, child development, literacy, equity, joy integration, art integration and celebrating all children for their unique gifts and talents.

She is now the Director of Learning and Education at Fred Rogers Productions where she works across departments, and she incorporates all of her passions.