Jesse Strauss (née Schmal) is an Associate Professor of Animation at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design in Boston. His professional career as a Storyboard Artist and Animator include the television series Cartoon Network’s Codename: Kids Next Door, PBS StoryCorps animated shorts, PBS’s Word World, and Adult Swim’s Superjail!, along with the Cartoon Network pilots Upstate Four and Utica Cartoon. He has created series pitches for Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.

He is married with two children, both of whom are better with color than he is, and two Australian Shepherds who fortunately, lack the dexterity to compete.

Jesse’s work is largely character-based, with an attention to judgmental rodents, cynical birds, and the quirks of human presentation. His drawn and written sketches are derived from interests in gardening and ecology, bicycles and sport, architecture and his grandfather, who was not an architect but did sell flooring in New Jersey.

His animated film Sub! (completed as a Senior at RISD) has screened internationally and won numerous awards, some of which came with trophies. He has a BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design, and a MSEd in Childhood Education from Hunter College in New York City.