2024 WGAE Council Election: Candidates Announced

NEW YORK, NY (August 1, 2024) – The Council of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is the governing body of the Guild and consists of 20 Council members: twelve (12) Film/TV/Streaming Council members, five (5) Online Media Council members and three (3) Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News Council 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, and new media; 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 2024 WGAE 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 seats, two (2) Online Media seats and three (3) Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News seats.

Current-Active members of the WGAE may vote online or by mail beginning at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. Members may vote only for the Council and Vice President candidates within their own work sector. 

Current-Active members may vote in person on Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. at the WGAE office. Voting closes at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, September 19, 2024. Candidates elected to Council will serve a two-year term beginning Friday, September 20, 2024.

The twelve (12) candidates for the six (6) Council seats in the Film/TV/Streaming work sector are:

• Patrick Coker
• Don P. Hooper
• Benjamin Rosenblum
• Monica Lee Bellais
• A M Homes
• Victoria Pollack
• Adam Wiesen
• Celine Robinson
• Larry J Cohen
• Marc Theobald
• Suzanne Weber
• Starlee Kine

The two (2) candidates for the one (1) Vice President seat in the Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News work sector are:

• Phil Pilato
• Beth Godvik

The five (5) candidates for the three (3) Council seats in the Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News work sector are:

• Justin DiLauro
• Phil Pilato 
• Selena Simmons
• Beth Godvik
• Gail Lee

The one (1) candidate for the one (1) Vice President seat in the Online Media work sector is:

• Sara David

The two (2) candidates for the two (2) Council seats in the Online Media work sector are:

• Susan Rinkunas
• Jessica Schulberg

*The order of listing candidates is determined by a drawing of candidates’ names by lot, conducted by two Guild members with a WGAE staff member acting as witness.

ABOUT THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA EAST
The Writers Guild of America East, AFL-CIO (WGAE) is a labor union of writers 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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