August 5, 2023
LOS ANGELES – Director Lesli Linka Glatter was re-elected President of the Directors Guild of America by acclamation by the delegates at the Guild’s Biennial National Convention held today at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles.
Additionally, 164 delegates representing more than 19,500 members of the DGA elected a new slate of officers and members of the National Board of Directors.
“I am honored to once again accept the responsibility of serving as President of the Directors Guild of America,” said Glatter. “At this critical time for our industry, I am more committed than ever to our Guild’s mission of protecting the creative and economic rights of our members and working collaboratively both internally and externally on the issues affecting us all. As we embark on the next chapter of our Guild, I’m elated to work alongside an incredibly talented, creative and diverse Board, all of whom generously volunteer their time to advocate for their fellow members and do their part in building an industry where everyone can thrive. As a union, our power comes from our unity — and I am thrilled to say we are as strong and united as ever before. Together, we will continue our shared fight — along with SAG-AFTRA and the WGA — for an industry in which we are all fairly valued and celebrated for the work we do.”
Glatter was first elected President in 2021 and has been on the Guild’s National Board since 2003 — previously serving as First Vice-President, and before that as Fifth Vice-President. She’s been a member of three past Negotiating Committees and as President worked with the 2023 Negotiating Committee to achieve significant gains on wages, global streaming residuals, safety, diversity and television creative rights, building for the future and impacting every category of member in our Guild. Her service as a member or alternate of the Western Directors Council, a member of the Creative Rights Committee, and on the PAC Leadership Council spans two decades. Glatter joined the DGA in 1985.
“It is my privilege and pleasure to re-nominate such an experienced, qualified and tenacious candidate for President,” said Thomas Schlamme, DGA Past President. “Over the last two rather intense years, Lesli has distinguished herself as a champion for our members across every category, including in our extremely challenging contract negotiation, and we are all better off for it. She has led with wisdom, an incredible fearlessness and an enormous amount of compassion. We are so fortunate that as a leader, she understands the needs of our membership and pursues them relentlessly — work she will continue in her next term.”
Lesli Linka Glatter is a Director of film, network, and premium cable television drama, with both pilots and episodes to her credit. Her episodic television work includes The Morning Show, Homeland, The Newsroom, The Walking Dead, Justified, Ray Donovan, Masters of Sex, True Blood, Mad Men, The Leftovers, The Good Wife, The West Wing, NYPD Blue, ER, Freaks and Geeks and Twin Peaks. She has also directed numerous pilots including Gilmore Girls, Pretty Little Liars and SIX. Her films include Now and Then, The Proposition and State of Emergency.
Glatter has been a Producing Director for the last 25 years, and is currently the Executive Producer/Director of Zero Day, a Netflix limited series written by Eric Newman and Noah Oppenheim, starring Robert DeNiro, as well as Love and Death, an HBO limited series written by David E. Kelley and starring Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons. She began her directing career through the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women, in which her film Tales of Meeting and Parting was nominated for an Oscar. Glatter has been nominated for eight DGA Awards, most recently winning her third DGA Award for directing the Homeland series finale, having won twice before for Mad Men and Homeland. She has also received eight Emmy Award nominations and a Humanitas Award nomination for State of Emergency.
In addition to her work at the DGA, Glatter is an advisor at the Sundance Institute’s Director’s Lab and has been committed to mentoring for many years and most recently helped develop the
successful NBC program, Female Forward. Lesli has received the Caucus Foundation Award, the Dorothy Arzner Directing Award from Women in Film and the Franklin Schaffner Award from the American Film Institute, as well as an Honorary Degree from the American Film Institute.
Prior to her work as a Director, Glatter was a modern dance choreographer who worked throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S.
The following officers were elected to serve alongside Glatter: Laura Belsey was elected National Vice President and Paris Barclay was re-elected Secretary Treasurer. Also elected were: First Vice-President Todd Holland; Second Vice-President Ron Howard; Third Vice-President Gina M. Prince-Bythewood; Fourth Vice-President Seith Mann; Fifth Vice-President Millicent Shelton; Sixth Vice-President Lily Olszewski; and Assistant Secretary-Treasurer Joyce Thomas.
Complete List of 2023-2025 DGA Officers and National Board Members
- President
Lesli Linka Glatter
- National Vice-President
Laura Belsey
- Secretary-Treasurer
Paris Barclay
- Assistant Secretary-Treasurer
Joyce Thomas
- First Vice-President
Todd Holland
- Second Vice-President
Ron Howard
- Third Vice-President
Gina M. Prince-Bythewood
- Fourth Vice-President
Seith Mann
- Fifth Vice-President
Millicent Shelton
- Sixth Vice-President
Lily Olszewski
Board Members
- Kabir Akhtar
- Jon Avnet
- Norberto Barba
- Valdez Flagg
- Courtney Franklin
- Nicole Kassell
- Christopher Nolan
- Joseph P. Reidy
- Donald L. Sparks
- Steven Spielberg
- Glenn P. Weiss
Alternate Board Members
- Tessa Blake
- Benny Boom
- Patricia Cardoso
- Hanelle Culpepper
- Ava DuVernay
- Karen Gaviola
- Maggie Greenwald
- Phil Lord
- Annetta Marion
- Lily Mariye
- Edward Ornelas
- Kimberly A. Peirce
- Jason Robert Reitman
- Bethany Rooney
- Marcos Siega
- Alex Stapleton
- J. Rupert Thompson
Associate Board Members
- Julie Gelfand
- Louis J. Guerra
- Kevin Koster
- Glenna Meeks
- Shawn Pipkin-West
Second Alternate Board Members
- Alanna G.A. Campbell
- Mimi (Marian) Deaton
- Joe MJ Moore
- Chemen A. Ochoa
- Lyn Pinezich
- Canella Williams-Larrabee
Click here to see the gallery of the DGA National Board 2023-2025