39. Cyma Zarghami

Twenty-four years ago, Zarghami began her career at Nickelodeon when it was still a fledgling kids network. "They called me 'clerk' because they couldn't pay me as well as they could pay the 'assistant,'" she recalls of her first position. Over the years Zarghami's jobs (and paychecks) have expanded -- she's been responsible for the research, strategy and development that led to high-rated kids shows like "Dora the Explorer." This year she added preteen hit "iCarly" and "Ni Hao, Kai-lan" to the Nick slate, but her three boys have eyes for just one new project -- the Nickelodeon Cruise, which held its maiden voyage in August. "My kids turned to me and said, 'Mom, is this your boat?'" she recalls. Having grown up with the channel, Zarghami says she still wants to "serve the first generation of Nickelodeon viewers, who are now actually Nickelodeon families."