Board of Directors

Ashley Lazarus, President, Creative Director. TJ & Pals was created by Mr. Lazarus, an award winning film maker, who for many years directed films for Mattel's toys, games and learning products. Gifted in working with children, Mr. Lazarus created many memorable commercials for their Disney and Sesame Street brands, including "Winnie the Pooh" and "Dr. Seuss" - as well as other national U.S. brands. Mr. Lazarus has over forty years' experience as a director and producer of films, documentaries and commercials for U.S. and international clients. He has won over 80 professional awards including Clios and first prizes at the Cannes, London, & Tokyo Film Festivals. He also wrote and directed the acclaimed movie "eLollipop" which tells the story of the friendship between two boys, one white and one black, growing up in an African village in Lesotho, during the height of the apartheid era in South Africa. Mr. Lazarus has also won the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion Award for Canvas in the Sky, a film about flying trapeze artists. His marketing documentary Spring and Spring Hill launched General Motor's new car company Saturn. It won first prize at the New York Marketing Awards Festival. General Motors purchased the full, prime-time, half hour before the Super Bowl to screen the film that launched Saturn. TJ & Pals has been a vision of Mr. Lazarus for several years. Each character and everything that is associated with TJ & Pals has Mr. Lazarus' attentive eye for detail and reflects the depth of his experience in global branding for U.S. and international clients.

Beverly Beard, Director, Education and Communications. Beverly Beard is a producer/director and art director who has worked with Ashley Lazarus for the past 30 years on many projects. She recently produced an educational documentary series, "Faith and Fate, the Story of the Jewish People in the 20th Century". She managed a team of leading educators from around the world to provide the maximum educational value to the 7 year project. She has worked with many international corporate clients to produce and art direct their commercials and documentaries including Disney, Mattel, Coca Cola, IBM, UPS, Hewlett Packard, M&M's, Snickers, Nokia, Toyota, Home Depot, Kelloggs, CNN and Georgia Pacific. Beverly was also senior television editor at the South African Broadcasting Corporation. She is now responsible for the educational content and development for TJ & Pals.

Robert Cohen, MD, Director and Medical Consultant. Dr. Robert M. Cohen attended Tulane University and received his B.S. degree from the University of Alabama and his M.D. degree from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. He completed a residency in Pediatrics at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) Medical Center at The Children's Hospital, and subsequently practiced pediatrics in Birmingham for four years. He then completed a two year fellowship in adult and pediatric allergy and immunology at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. He is Board Certified in both Pediatrics and Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Dr. Cohen was the senior partner at The Allergy and Asthma Center, L.L.C., which he founded in 1986, until his retirement in 2009. He was also the founder of DataQuest Clinical Trials, and served as its Director of Clinical Operations. In addition, Dr. Cohen served as the senior staff allergist for The Georgia Pediatric Pulmonary Associates, the largest pediatric pulmonary practice in the country. Dr. Cohen was twice recognized by The Best Doctors in America, Southeast Region. Dr. Cohen has served in top leadership positions in many educational institutions. With his pediatric background and continued dedication to the education of children, Dr. Cohen presently serves as medical consultant to TJ & Pals.