Hallmark Media announced today the appointment of Kelly Garrett as vice president of development. Garrett reports to Samantha DiPippo, senior vice president, development, and will be based in Studio City.

Garrett will play an integral role in the development of Hallmark Media’s iconic holiday programming, sourcing material and spearheading projects from development to production to final delivery. “Kelly is a huge fan of our brand and understands the spirit and emotional tenor of our holiday programming,” remarks DiPippo. “Her enthusiasm for Hallmark content and her extensive experience in family programming make her the perfect candidate for this role.” Garrett joins Hallmark Media after over 14 years at Disney, most recently in the role of Executive Director, Original Programming, working in both original movies and current series. Among the projects she oversaw during her long tenure are original movies The Thing About Harry, Life-Size 2: A Christmas Eve, Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas, The Turkey Drop, Holidaze, The Mistle-Tones, and Lovestruck: The Musical, in addition to some of Freeform’s most successful original series, including the GLAAD-nominated Good Trouble, Cruel Summer, The Fosters, Siren, Peabody Award-winning Switched at Birth, Stitchers, and Young & Hungry. Prior to joining Freeform (then ABC Family) in 2008, Garrett worked for prolific TV movie
producer Von Zerneck-Sertner Films and executive producer Stephanie Germain.