Council

Jessica Schulberg is a senior reporter at HuffPost, covering the criminal legal system. She is the recipient of a 2022 Deadline Club award and a 2023 Writers Guild Award. Her work has helped free people from prison and led to policy and legislative change. She volunteers with Empowerment Avenue, helping incarcerated journalists publish their work in mainstream outlets. She is a proud member of HuffPost Union, where she has helped negotiate two contracts and has served on contract enforcement committees since 2017.

Beth Godvik is a newswriter/producer at CBS News Chicago (WBBM-TV). She’s worked there since 2004, producing newscasts, booking interviews and working with reporters. She also produces segments about quick ways to boost your mental health called “Mental Health Minute” and a financial education segment called “Money Talks.” In addition to news, Beth was one of the producers on “Monsters and Money in the Morning,” a sports and business round table talk show. She’s a union co-steward in her newsroom and has served on multiple negotiating committees for CBS News contracts. Beth is also an Emmy Award winner and an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University. You can follow her on social media – @thenewzgirl on Threads or @godviknewzgirl on BlueSky.

Email Beth Godvik

Larry J. Cohen is a writer, producer and New Jersey enthusiast. His credits include BERLIN STATION (MGM+), BORGIA (Netflix/Canal+) and SADDAM & ME (selected for the 2018 Blacklist). His work has been selected in festivals across the country including San Francisco International, Boston Independent and Palm Springs International. His producing credits include Peabody Award winning RadioLab’s “WORDS”. Most recently, he has been developing series for Apple TV+, Bad Robot and HBO.

Nicole is a writer for The Daily Show. Previously, she was a writer at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Chris Gethard is a writer, comedian, actor and podcaster. He currently hosts the podcast Beautiful/Anonymous, which Time magazine recently named one of the 100 best podcasts of all time and a “master class in kindness, empathy, and compassion”. Chris formerly created and hosted the television show The Chris Gethard Show, which started as a public access show before airing for three seasons on cable. He also wrote and performed Career Suicide, a critically praised comedy special that HBO released in 2017. He’s written six books, acted in dozens of television shows and films, and tours all over the world as a stand up. He’s also a card carrying member of SAG-AFTRA.

Liz Hynes is a writer based in New York City. She currently writes for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and was previously the Writers’ Assistant at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Erica Saleh is a screenwriter and playwright. She was the Creator/Showrunner of ONE OF US IS LYING for Peacock. Other credits include HAPPY FACE, EVIL, INSTINCT, WISDOM OF THE CROWD, and CHANNEL ZERO. She is currently serving her first term as the WGAE’s VP for the Film/TV/Streaming sector and serves on the Guild’s Organizing Committee and Committee for Inclusion and Equity, and was a member of the 2020 and 2023 MBA negotiating committees.

SUZANNE WEBER began her career by performing solo shows as an angry performance poet named Anita Liberty. Under the Anita Liberty pseudonym, Weber wrote three books including the titles, How to Heal the Hurt by Hating and How to Stay Bitter Through the Happiest Times of Your Life. Weber also wrote To What Miserable Wretches Have I Been Born? (Revenge Poetry for Babies & Toddlers) under her own name. Though most of Weber’s professional life has been spent in development, Weber was on staff for all three seasons of Disney Channel’s Andi Mack. Weber was also a Producer on the staff of the sadly short-lived Lizzie McGuire reboot for Disney+. (HMU if you want the deets.)

Adam Wiesen is a screenwriter and producer based in New York City. His journey to the screen has included work as a bouncer, slam poet, concert promoter, graphic artist, and visual journalist. His credits include Executive Producer of ‘TALES’ on BET and Supervising Producer on ‘East New York’ on CBS and Paramount+, he has sold pilots to HBO, FX, Live Nation, and Paramount Television Studios, and NBCUniversal, and lectured at SUNY Buffalo, Urbanworld, School of Visual Arts and GFS.

Linda Yellen is an Emmy-winning producer, writer, and director who has made twenty-seven films, including two of television’s highest-rated movies—among them the acclaimed Playing for Time, which earned her her first Emmy. Her work has received multiple honors, including two Peabodys, seven Emmys, a Luminas Award, a Silver Nymph, and two Christopher Awards. Her films have screened at major festivals such as Cannes, Toronto, New York, and Sundance (two times). She also received Barnard College’s Lifetime Woman of Achievement Award.This is her second time on the Executive Council of the Writers Guild – the first time in the ’90s. Linda has just completed four consecutive terms on the Executive Council of the Director’s Guild, the maximum. As co-writer and director, Linda’s latest film, One Stupid Thing, will be released later this year. Linda wakes up at the crack of dawn and writes two hours daily. She’s been writing professionally since she was 22 and sold her first screenplay to the legendary actress, Natalie Wood.

Hamilton Nolan is a journalist who writes about politics and labor. He joined the WGAE in 2015 as a member of the Gawker Media union.

Nitish Pahwa is a staff writer for business and technology at Slate and a shop steward for the Slate Union, where he’s helped bargain two contract renewals. A first-term WGAE Council member, Nitish is also a member of the Organizing Committee and a founding member of the Futures Committee.

Samantha Smylie (They/She) is a journalist covering education in Illinois for Chalkbeat Chicago, and they are based in Chicago. She has written for local news organizations in the city such as the Hyde Park Herald, South Side Weekly, the Chicago Reader, and City Bureau. They are currently a shop steward for the Civic News Guild which covers Chalkbeat, Votebeat, and Healthbeat. She was voted in as an Online Media council member in 2023. You can reach Samantha on Twitter/X at @sammie_smylie.

Some fun things you should know about me: I have a small goldendoodle named Cherry, I picked up crocheting and embroidery at the end of 2023, and I’m a total booknerd.

Samantha Brown is a producer at Vogue and a council member for the Writers Guild of America. Over the past decade, she has combined her editorial judgment, writing, and post-production knowledge to tell stories that are not only timely, but lasting.

Outside of Vogue, her career spans across many leading news organizations–– including NBC News, CBS News, and National Public Radio (“NPR”), where she has reported on international and domestic politics, entertainment, and more. During her six years at NBCUniversal, she was on the launch team for the streaming platform Peacock, wrote for Emmy Award-winning shows including TODAY and Nightly News, reported for NBCNews.com, and helped cover two presidential elections. Earlier in her career, she worked as a field producer supporting courtroom and breaking news coverage for CBS News and NPR. She has also produced a variety of global documentaries over the years.

Jordan Lilly is a writer, producer, and journalist based in New York. He has worked across news and entertainment for over a decade, starting his career as an assistant at 3 Arts Entertainment, where he worked closely with established writers in the WGA, and emerging comedians to help secure those first union-eligible credits. He has since written and produced at Inside Edition Digital, CBS News, and Democracy Docket. In 2026, he proudly served on the Bargaining Committee for CBS News 24/7’s contract negotiations, where his organizing efforts led to a historic staff walkout on the way to securing a significantly improved contract for the unit’s membership.