For directions to Sesame Street from Happy Valley, Pembroke, just ask Mel Ming.

Now President and CEO of The Sesame Workshop — the non-profit educational organisation behind the iconic children’s show — Mr Ming’s career has rarely wavered from its upward arch since leaving the mossy lanes of 1960s Bermuda.

How he got to the pinnacle of children’s broadcasting is well documented. But the catalyst for the adventure that would bring him to that famous New York street where sunny days sweep clouds away, he said, began when his mother informed him he was to be sent to study abroad in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“My road to Sesame Street began to be a destination before I got here,” said Mr Ming from his office at the Sesame Workshop.

Since graduating from Temple University in 1967 with his accountancy degree, he has held executive positions at National Public Radio, the Museum of Television and Radio in New York, WQED Pittsburgh and WNET New York.

In 1983, leaving the world of chartered accounting behind, Mr Ming joined a cash-strapped NPR as Vice President and finance director, tasked with helping the enterprise “achieve it’s mission and be good fiscal stewards as well.”

“I was hired and became a part of the transition team to get NPR in shape,” he said. “And I take some pride now, unbeknown to those people that are there now, but I take some pride in getting that ship righted so it continued to become the jewel of American radio broadcasting.”

“It was bliss in that I knew nothing about media. I knew less about journalism. But I knew a good bit about financial reporting, about financial systems, financial operations, and what NPR did for me was help me bring my skill to an enterprise that was highly creative, and I still believe is of high value.”

Never one for the spotlight, Mr Ming has kept a low profile on his journey to the heights of American broadcast — “probably by design” — until a recent White House press conference where he was singled out by First Lady Michelle Obama.

In October Mrs Obama made the announcement that Sesame Street would be waiving licensing fees for Sesame Street characters to help promote fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy eating campaign.

“I want to take a moment to express my appreciation to Mel Ming and everyone from Sesame Workshop for everything they are doing for our children,” she said.

The campaign encourages children to eat healthier food choices. Under the arrangement Sesame Workshop is waiving the licensing fee for its characters for two years, allowing produce companies across America to use them in promoting fruit and vegetables.

The commitment to curbing childhood obesity began 14 years ago, said Mr Ming, when Sesame Street made the decision to take an active roll in helping young children learn Healthy Habits for Life.

Over the years, Mr Ming has witnessed a technological transformation that has rewritten the rules of broadcast and how programmes interact with an audience. While some bemoan the ubiquity of mobile smartphones and iPads, Mr Ming and the Sesame Workshop have seen it as a chance to extend their remit as leaders in educational programming even further.

Currently the Workshop is experimenting with ‘augmented reality’ apps for smartphones that uses digital overlays on the phone screen to assist children in reading, speech, and a host of other possibilities yet to be explored.

“It’s really fascinating. It extends learning, it capitalises on the power of media, and technology in child friendly ways, and we’re excited about these possibilities.”

“We had no idea in ‘94 what broadcasting would mean in 2014,” he said. “We’ve gone far beyond just having separate, dedicated channels. We have devices. We have services. We have Netflix and iPads and smartphones. Even broadcast media can be customised and tailored for my individual tastes and needs. And for Sesame, seeing the innovation and the exploration of these opportunities over the last, in my case, 14 years, I’m amazed, thrilled.

But before Sesame Street and Mrs Obama, before National Public Radio, before WNET and WQED, Mr Ming had to contend with the immediacy of being sent to the United States and passing his final year at University of Temple High School.

A lot has changed since 1961, but leaving Bermuda for the wider world, said Mr Ming, is still an imperative for young, ambitious Bermudians.

“There is a quality to the experience and to the preparation for one’s life work that is enriched or enhanced by living in larger communities, larger countries, more competitive, diverse environments in terms of skills and opportunities. So one of the reasons my parents chose America for me, I think, is because they did not desire for me to be trained as a civil servant, per se, as they both were.

“They desired for me and my brothers the options of going on other career paths or tracks and not be limited to what they saw as their world’s limitations. America provided that for me. That’s my advice to younger Bermudians: go. Get the exposure, get the experience. Never lose sight of your goals; keep your end in view; be diligent in your work; be true to yourself, and don’t get sidetracked.”