2023 WGAE Council Elections Results

NEW YORK, NY (September 21, 2023) – The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) today announced the results of its 2023 Council election.

The Council consists of 20 Council members: twelve (12) Film/TV/Streaming  members, five (5) Online Media  members and three (3) Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News members, plus five (5) officers: President, Secretary-Treasurer, and three (3) Vice Presidents, one from each work sector.

Film/TV/Streaming members work in screen, television, podcasts, and SVOD; Online Media members work in digital news shops; Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News members work in traditional broadcast and cable news shops and newer streaming shops, all in positions under the Guild’s jurisdiction.

The 2023 WGAE Council election included the following open positions: President; Secretary-Treasurer; Vice President of Film/TV/Streaming; six (6) Film/TV/Streaming seats; and three (3) Online Media  seats. There are no open seats in Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News.

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen has been elected President.

Christopher Kyle has been re-elected as Secretary-Treasurer.

Erica Saleh has been elected Vice President of the Film/Television/Streaming sector.

Sofia Alvarez, Josh Gondelman (i), Liz Hynes (i), Greg Iwinski (i), Sarah Montana, and Sasha Stewart (i) were elected to serve on the Council representing Film/TV/Streaming members.

Caitlin Cruz (i), Sie Morley, and Samantha Smylie were elected to serve on the Council representing Online Media members.

*(i) denotes incumbent.

Having been elected Vice President of the Film/Television/Streaming sector, Erica Saleh will vacate her Council seat mid-term. As per the Guild’s constitution, “In the event of a vacancy on the Council other than the President or Secretary-Treasurer, the Officers and Council members in the same work sector may fill such vacancy with either the unsuccessful candidate from that work sector who received the most votes in the previous election or another eligible member in the same work sector.” That decision will be made in the near future.

Members currently serving on the WGAE Council with one year left in their term for the Film/Television/Streaming sector include Monica Lee Bellais, Kaitlin Fontana, Gina Gionfriddo, Tian Jun Gu, and A.M. Homes; the Online Media sector includes Vice President Sara David, Susan Rinkunas, and Jessica Schulberg; the Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News sector includes Vice President Kathy McGee, Justin Raffael DiLauro, Elizabeth Godvik, and Gail Lee.

Votes were cast by 13.3% of total eligible voters (7,166) for President and Secretary-Treasurer. In Film/TV/Streaming, votes were cast by 19.1% of eligible voters (4,183). In Online Media, votes were cast by 7.5% of eligible voters (2,012). In Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News, votes were cast by 8.03% of eligible voters (971). The ballot count was supervised by Votenet Solutions.

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