Leslie Walsh
Leslie Valdes is creator and executive producer of Nickelodeon’s new animated preschool series, Santiago of the Seas . Infused with a Spanish-language and Latino-Caribbean culture curriculum, the action-adventure series follows 8-year-old Santiago Montes, a brave and kind-hearted pirate, as he embarks on daring rescues, searches for treasures and keeps the high seas safe from villains like the nefarious pirate Bonnie Bones in a fantastical Caribbean world. Valdes also voices Santiago’s abuelo, Antonio Gaviota, in the series. Valdes served as a staff writer from the inception of the global phenomenon Dora the Explorer and later went on to co-develop and serve as head writer and producer for Disney Junior’s hit preschool series, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He has written for numerous hit animated series such as the The Backyardigans and Handy Manny and developed TV pilots for Nickelodeon and Playhouse Disney.
