Brooke Shields Elected Actors’ Equity President
Actor Brooke Shields has been elected president of Actors’ Equity Association, the union has announced.
Shields took the lead in a three-way race, beating out stage manager Erin Maureen Koster and actor Wydetta Carter. Actors’ Equity is represents 51,000 actors and stage managers.
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Shields succeeds Kate Shindle as president, who announced in April that she would not seek re-election when her nine-year tenure ended May 23. Shindle has said that she will remain active in the labor movement but now intends to focus on resuming her acting career, noting that the unpaid position of president left her with so little time for acting that she had not been able to clock enough professional hours to quality for Equity health insurance.
Shields’ win was confirmed this morning by Equity, which announced the results of its 2024 Officer and Councilor Election. In total, 45 council seats across all three regions and representing four categories (principal actor, chorus actor, stage manager and at-large) were filled, effective immediately. All terms are four years except where noted.
In addition to Shields, the 2024 officers include Rashaan James II, elected Eastern Regional Vice President; Sarah LaBarr, elected Central Regional Vice President, without opposition. Jeffrey Landman was elected Western Regional Vice President, without opposition. All officers were elected to four-year terms.
In announcing her run for the presidency in April, Shields said, “I felt it was my responsibility to step up, I want to lead with strength. I want to lead with intelligence, with compassion, with passion. And, of course, a little bit of humor, always…I have been in the trenches with you and you have always had my back. And I’m here to tell you that I have your back.”
Shields comes to the position with no experience in union leadership, but has been a working actor since childhood. She has appeared on Broadway in Grease, Chicago, Cabaret, Wonderful Town and The Addams Family.
In addition to the national elections, the following candidates were elected in regional positions:
In the Eastern Region:
The following candidates were elected to four-year terms as Eastern Regional Principal Councilor:
Jeff Blumenkrantz
Jennifer Cody
Jacqueline Jarrold
Claire Karpen
Austin Ku
Jeffrey Omura
Kellie Overbey
Kate Shindle
Nancy Slusser
Richard Topol
Michele Ragusa was elected to a two-year term as Eastern Regional Principal Councilor.
The following candidates were elected to four-year terms as Eastern Regional Chorus Councilor:
Belinda Allyn
Holly Ann Butler
Rebecca Kim Jordan
Nikka Graff Lanzarone
Melissa Hunter McCann
T. Shyvonne Stewart
Ryan Rodiño was elected to a two-year term as Eastern Regional Chorus Councilor.
The following candidates were elected to four-year terms as Eastern Regional Stage Manager Councilor:
Anne McPherson
Rebecca McBee
Peter Royston
The following candidates were elected to four-year terms as Eastern Regional At-Large Councilor:
Tamara Anderson
Logan Benedict
Leslie Sears
In the Central Region:
The following candidates were elected to four-year terms as Central Regional Principal Councilor:
Rebecca Prescott
Colin Sphar
Nikki Switzer
The following candidate weas unopposed and deemed elected to a four-year term as Central Regional Stage Manager Councilor:
Katherine Nelson
The following candidate was unopposed and deemed elected to a four-year term as Central Regional At-Large Councilor:
Carolyn Fast
In the Western Region:
The following candidates were elected to four-year terms as Western Regional Principal Councilor:
Ry Armstrong
Michael James Bell
Kate Burton
Barbara Callander
Josh Grisetti
Kwana A. L. Martinez
The following candidates were elected to two-year terms as Western Regional Principal Councilor:
Brian Herndon
Cynthia Marty
Gregory North
Juliane Godfrey was unopposed and deemed elected to a four-year term as Western Regional Chorus Councilor.
David S. Cohen was unopposed and deemed elected to a four-year term as Western Regional Stage Manager Councilor.
Michelle Dunn was unopposed and deemed elected to a four-year term as Western Regional At-Large Councilor.
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