Candidate for Council, Online Media Sector
Online Media in this moment doesn’t look how most of us imagined it would. Many of our fears came true—AI and monopolies shrank our vibrant and vital ecosystem. I’m a firm believer that this is a moment, though, that continual worsening is not inevitable. With the organizing power of the WGAE, we will not only build resiliency against these changes but that we can do it from a place of joy.
As a union steward at Thrillist, I was part of the ways we can win together, on the big and small issues. Raises, robust contracts, and summer Fridays. I also was part of the losses. Layoffs hit the team three times in two years, until there was nothing left but the husk of what we built. But even then, it was the power of the collective that secured better severance that kept us in our homes, our loved ones with health insurance. Those experiences as a union leader led me to join in working on WGAE’s Online Media Bill of Rights. It’s an ambitious document declaring a pattern of demands that will make our industry more inclusive, sustainable, and equitable.
That experience is part of why I’m running for council: I believe in our right to demand more from our employers. The other part: I want to make being in WGAE’s Online Media sector an added value to your life, whether you’re currently in a shop or not. This will be through securing contracts that ensure the dignity of your work and your life. Through organizing more shops and fighting layoffs. Through further creating a community that is connected, even as freelancers or former staffers. It will be inventing new pathways forward together.
As a council member, I will focus on how to make our lives better right now. More events with other members. More ways to access resources. More coalition building. All of it with the belief that online media is what we make it, and doing so with an invigorating sense of joy and purpose.
I hope to take my love for what we do and what we can make to the council. Thank you and I looking forward to seeing you at the next online media event.
Endorsements
Kevin Cortez, Sara David, Joseph Erbentraut, Zachary Lennon-Simon, Ben Mesirow, Susan Rinkunas
Endorse Opheli Garcia Lawler for Council, Online Media Sector
Note: WGAW members who wish to endorse a candidate may follow the process outlined in section G.1.B of the 2026 Election Policy.
