Candidate for Council, Film/TV/Streaming Sector
Foresight. You know what, I’ll get back to that. I walked my first WGA picket line in 2007 before I was a member. I came up in the financial sector working with big data, having previously programmed the AI in dogs to play soccer and coded on a solar-car competition team. But writing called to me, like it always did.
After I joined the guild, I joined…a lot: the Digital Caucus, the Animation Caucus, WGA Brooklyn. I walked in support of nonfiction writers, volunteered at the WGAE Awards before joining the Awards committee… I took every opportunity to listen to members at all levels, of all backgrounds, hear your stories, your successes, your grievances. So, when the email went out that we were on strike again in 2023, I joined the line—again. This time as a member, this time with the knowledge you gave me. Then, I went back every day, becoming a strike captain, part of the Rapid Response Sunrise Strikers. I talked to crews on the ground, in sometimes tense situations, about writers as laborers. I led pickets and shutdowns from New Jersey up to Rhode Island. I pushed for the Animation Writers’ picket, making sure this part of our industry did not get sidelined. Then I was part of the trio that planned Wednesday Workshops during the strike. We got staff writers, feature writers, and showrunners in the room so that we could hear each other’s stories, know why we’re fighting for each group, and know what our fights are within our respective groups—to grow as a community.
Here’s the thing about foresight. How we focus our time and resources is important to the longevity of the writing profession. 2023 was a battle for labor, and it’s going to continue. Look at AI, unpaid development and rewrites, shrinking writing staffs, streaming residuals. We are all justified in our concern about our future, and we need to fight for it, today and tomorrow. As a one-time engineer who worked with hedge funds in Trading and Risk, it’s almost innate to look ten steps or ten-years ahead, while scoping the parallels in other business and tech sectors. What I saw in 2023 was this: an amazing community of writers who didn’t just create narratives, we were changing the narrative with the public and each other in real time. It’s our superpower—and, there is monetary value in it. As a member of council, I will continue this fight to empower our members, elevate writers, and most importantly listen to the membership’s voices so that we have the foresight to always change the narrative.
Endorsements
Sofia Alvarez, Monica Lee Bellais, Hilary Bettis, Micharne Cloughley, Ann Cohen, Patrick Coker, Dominic Colon, C Colson, Christina Covino, Bonnie Datt, Sara David, Nicholas Davis, Amadou Diallo, Justin DiLauro, Kathy Dobie, Eric Drysdale, Matthew Fennell, Tom Fontana, Nancy Ford, Wendy Goldman, Jacqualynn Harris, Jim Hart, Sheri Holman, Allison Hord, Liz Hynes, Wesley Jones, Tom Kemnitz, Jr, Susan Kim, Starlee Kine, Penelope Koechl, Gail Lee, Warren Leight, Tocarra Mallard, Sarah Montana, Allan Neuwirth, Joseph Opio, Juliet Packer, Jean Passanante, Daniel Perlman, Philip Pilato, Victoria Pollack, Mark Ramirez, Joseph Randazzo, Andrew Rheingold, Celine Robinson, Melissa Salmons, Bill Scheft, Stephen Schiff, Ranada Shepard, Courtney Simon, David Smilow, Lauren Ashley Smith, Lily Thorne, Katie Tibaldi, Louis Venosta, Nancy Williams Watt, Suzanne Weber, Adam Wiesen
WGAW: Cristine Chambers, L.E. Correia, Rasheed Newson, Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola, Chitra Sampath
Endorse Don P. Hooper for Council
Note: WGAW members who wish to endorse a candidate may follow the process outlined in section G.1.B of the 2024 Election Policy.
