2026 WGAE Council Elections Results

NEW YORK, NY (September 22, 2026)— The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) today announced the results of its 2026 Council election. Elected members will serve a two-year term, the first full day of which is September 23, 2026.

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

The 2026 WGAE Council election will include the following open positions: One (1) Online Media Vice President, one (1) Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News Vice President, six (6) Film/TV/Streaming Council seats, two (2) Online Media Council seats, and three (3) Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News Council seats.

Jessica Schulberg has been elected Vice President of the Online Media sector.

Elizabeth Godvik has been elected Vice President of the Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News sector.

Larry J. Cohen, Geri Cole, Greg Iwinski, Adam Wiesen, Suzanne Weber, and Linda Yellen were elected to serve on the Council representing Film/TV/Streaming members.

Hamilton Nolan and Kelby Vera were elected to serve on the Council representing Online Media members.

Samantha Brown, Jordan Lilly, and Phil Pilato were elected to serve on the Council representing Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News members.

Members currently serving on the WGAE Council with one year left in their term include President Tom Fontana, Secretary-Treasurer Sasha Stewart, Vice President for Film/Television/Streaming Michael Rauch, Film/TV/Streaming Council members Nicole Conlan, Chris Gethard, Liz Hynes, Sarah Montana, Sharyn Rothstein, and Erica Saleh, Online Media Council members Sie Morley, Nitish Pahwa, and Samantha Smylie.

In Film/TV/Streaming, votes were cast by 13.04% of eligible voters (4,294). In Online Media, votes were cast by 9.14% of eligible voters (1,631). In Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News, votes were cast by 12.46% of eligible voters (1,172). The ballot count was supervised by eBallot.

ABOUT THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA EAST
The Writers Guild of America East, AFL-CIO, is a labor union of more than 7,500 members working in film, television, news, podcasts and online media. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and presents writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America East, visit wgaeast.org.

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