September 13, 2020
On Sunday September 13, the DGA concluded a three-day Diversity & Inclusion Summit to discuss its growing and evolving approach to diversity and inclusion.
Elected and appointed DGA members of the National Board, the Diversity Task Force and the chairs of the Guild’s Diversity Committees — African American Steering Committee, Asian American Committee, Eastern Diversity Steering Committee, Latino Committee, Women’s Steering Committee and the Eastern Directors Council’s Focus on Women Committee — and DGA staff came together to address the state of diversity and inclusion at the Guild and in the industry, and to map out the next phase of its work. The event came to life over the course of three days, beginning on Saturday, August 29, and continuing on Saturday, September 12, and Sunday September 13, with morning and afternoon sessions each day.
DGA President Thomas Schlamme led off the Summit with opening remarks, “We are living through a remarkable and complex moment in time. Today is such an incredible opportunity for us to share, to learn, to listen, and to be together with our peers who so deeply and passionately care about diversity and inclusion within our Guild and within our industry as a whole. I hope this is the first of many steps towards an honest partnership in ensuring progress towards that goal and that we can walk away with a richer understanding of what diversity and inclusion means in 2020 — and on a human level — a much better understanding of each other.”
The summit covered the Guild’s goals and objectives; research and data on industry hiring; communications; diversity events and educational programs; and negotiations with employers. A full report from the Summit will be presented to the DGA National Board at the October 2020 meeting.
DGA Diversity Summit Attendees (in alphabetical order):
- Latino Committee Alternate Co-Chair John Aguirre
- Latino Committee Co-Chair Regina M. Ainsworth
- Diversity Task Force Member Norberto Barba
- DGA Past President Paris Barclay
- DGA National Board Fourth Vice-President Laura Belsey
- DGA Assistant Secretary-Treasurer Scott R. Berger
- Diversity Task Force Member Tessa Blake
- Diversity Task Force Member Kevin G. Bray
- DGA Alternate Board Member/Women’s Steering Committee Co-Chair Maria Burton
- African American Steering Committee Co-Chair Jeffrey W. Byrd
- Diversity Task Force Member Henry Chan
- African American Steering Committee Co-Chair Janice Cooke-Leonard
- DGA Alternate Board Member/Women’s Steering Committee Co-Chair Hanelle M. Culpepper
- Diversity Task Force Member Roxann Dawson
- Diversity Task Force Member Bill Duke
- DGA Associate Board Member/Western AD/UPM Council 2nd Vice Chair Courtney M. Franklin
- DGA Alternate Board Member/Diversity Task Force Member Zetna Fuentes
- DGA National Board Member/Diversity Task Force Member Karen Gaviola
- DGA National Board First Vice-President Lesli Linka Glatter
- Asian American Committee Co-Chair Cellin Gluck
- Diversity Task Force Co-Chair/Asian American Committee Co-Chair Michael Goi
- DGA Alternate Board Member/Eastern Directors Council Focus on Women Committee Co-Chair Maggie Greenwald
- DGA National Board Member/Diversity Task Force Co-Chair Todd Holland
- DGA National Board Second Vice-President Ron Howard
- DGA National Board Member Nicole T. Kassell
- Asian American Committee Alternate Co-Chair Kai Kim
- Diversity Task Force Member Jaffar Mahmood
- Eastern Directors Council Focus on Women Committee Co-Chair Annetta Marion
- Asian American Committee Co-Chair Lily Mariye
- Women’s Steering Committee Alternate Co-Chair Tara Miele
- DGA Associate Board Member/Western AD/UPM Council 1st Vice Chair Jennie O'Keefe Armas
- Eastern Diversity Steering Committee Co-Chair Jono Oliver
- DGA National Board Sixth Vice-President Liliana Olszewski
- Diversity Task Force member/Latino Committee Co-Chair Edward Ornelas
- DGA National Board Fifth Vice-President/Diversity Task Force Co-Chair Bethany Rooney
- DGA National Board Member/Diversity Task Force Member/Women’s Steering Committee Co-Chair Liz Ryan
- DGA President Thomas D. Schlamme
- DGA National Board Member/Diversity Task Force Member Oz Scott
- Diversity Task Force Co-Chair Carl H. Seaton, Jr.
- DGA Alternate Board Member/Diversity Task Force Member Millicent Shelton
- Diversity Task Force Member Marcos Siega
- DGA National Vice-President Mary Rae Thewlis
- DGA Secretary Treasurer/Diversity Task Force Member Betty Thomas
- DGA Associate Board Member/Eastern Diversity Steering Committee Co-Chair Joyce Thomas
- Eastern Diversity Steering Committee Co-Chair Louis Venosta
- African American Steering Committee Co-Chair Dwight Williams
- Latino Committee Co-Chair Alicia Zaragoza
DGA Staff Attendees:
- DGA National Executive Director Russell Hollander
- DGA Associate National Executive Director G. Bryan Unger
- DGA Executive in Charge of Diversity Programs and Committees Frank Bennett Gonzalez
- DGA Assistant Executive Director Mayra Ocampo
- DGA Senior Manager, Theater & Special Event Operations Ashley Alvarez
- DGA Administrative Assistant – Diversity Ollie Ashtari-Larki
- DGA Assistant Executive Director, Research and Strategic Analysis Joyce Baron
- DGA Executive in Charge of Public Relations Lily Bedrossian
- DGA Assistant Executive Director Michael Berger
- DGA Eastern Executive Director Neil Dudich
- DGA Manager, Committee Events, Brandon Goco
- DGA Assistant Executive Director Mary Hatch
- DGA Assistant Executive Director Steven Knauss
- DGA Field Representative Michelle Kuchinsky
- DGA Associate Executive Director, Communications, Morgan Rumpf
For more information on the Guild's Diversity efforts, click here to visit the DGA Diversity section.
Image courtesy of Michael Goi