Kay Hanley is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning songwriter for TV animation, music copyright advocate/activist with Songwriters Of North America, and singer of Boston-based rock band Letters To Cleo Hanley began her career in music as the lead singer of Boston-based alternative rock band Letters to Cleo, releasing 3 acclaimed albums between 1990-2000, and spawning such hits as "Awake and Here and Now". In 2002, Hanley released her first full-length solo album, Cherry Marmalade, produced by longtime Cleo producer, Mike Denneen at Q Division Studios in Boston. The record has recently been remastered for a double album 20th-anniversary vinyl re-release. Subsequent solo releases were The Babydoll EP (2005) and Weaponize (2009). After a 16-year hiatus, Letters To Cleo reunited in 2016 to release new music and embark on several sold-out US tours. They are currently writing their 4th full-length studio album.

In the late 90’s, Ms. Hanley began expanding her work as a singer and songwriter into the TV and film world, writing songs for WB’s animated series Generation O, providing the singing voice for Rachael Leigh Cook's character Josie in Universal Pictures' feature film Josie and the Pussycats and performing cover versions of Nick Lowe's "Cruel to be Kind" and Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me" in Touchstone Pictures' hit film, 10 Things I Hate About You. Today, Ms. Hanley spends most of her time writing music for animated television, penning original songs for shows like Disney Junior's hit series Vampirina and Doc McStuffins (for which she won a Peabody Award in 2014), Dreamworks’ Harvey Street Kids, WB/Cartoon Network’s DC Super Hero Girls and Netflix series, Ada Twist, Scientist and becoming a first time Emmy winner in 2022 for We The People. Her latest animated project is Kindergarten The Musical, which she developed with writing partners Michelle Lewis, Dan Petty, and Charlton Pettus. She serves as composer and executive producer for the series, which will debut in Fall 2024 on Disney Junior.

Ms. Hanley is a co-founder of Songwriters Of North America (SONA). This non-profit advocacy organization fights for the protection and value of songs and songwriters in the streaming music marketplace. As a result of her advocacy work, Hanley was chosen to represent songwriters on the Mechanical Licensing Collective, serving as vice-chair of the Unclaimed Royalties Oversight Committee.

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