SERGEANT-AT-ARMS

My journey with TAG began in 2015 as a character and prop designer at Disney TVA. I became shop steward for Gaumont in 2021, continuing at Cartoon Network from 2022-2023, and Titmouse from 2024-2025, all while stepping into creative leadership as an Art Director.

I served on the 2024 Negotiations Committee and was a delegate at this past year’s D2 and Quadrennial. In 2024, I was elected to fill a vacant seat on the E-Board, where I continued my service. This included spearheading the formation of a Communications Advisory Group alongside fellow board member Candice Stephenson. This initiative stemmed from direct conversations with members, exploring how to make our messaging more effective and member-driven. 

I pride myself as someone who can speak openly about both exciting and difficult topics with any member. I’ve maintained an open-door policy, both as an Art Director and during my time on E-Board. Supporting every member begins with listening, and I view my position as service to the members first. You deserve to be heard, and there is always something to improve.

Being the Union’s Sergeant-at-Arms isn’t just about protecting our physical space at the Hall. I believe it’s also about protecting our solidarity and our spirit. As we expand nationally, it ensures our space remains safe for all members to speak freely without fear of external interference while also fostering an open door for those newly initiated or involved. In a society where vulnerable groups are being actively targeted, our Union should always be a stronghold of diverse ideas, initiatives, and, above all, people. Ensuring all members are seen and heard will always be my highest priority. I will continue to be an open ear and open mind to every member for as long as I serve in any capacity in this Union.

OFFICER SEAT

I’m a story artist with 10 years of experience working in both tv and games. I’m also a current executive board member, previous shop steward at Bento Box, and active member of the Tax Incentive Task Force. Before joining the union in 2019 I worked in the games industry, where passionate workers are often taken advantage of without protection of a union contract. Unfair wages, crunch, unpaid overtime, lack of benefits, and toxic work culture is prevalent in these highly competitive non-union spaces. Getting my first union job was transformative. The difference in my working conditions, wages, work/life balance, and overall sense of security was striking, and experiencing that difference fuels my union activism daily. What we have as a collective is so powerful, and together we can uphold and consistently improve that power and our reach as a union into the future. For me, that looks like an active and engaged membership with access to union job opportunities. I hope to foster this by:

-Supporting internal organizing and member outreach for an engaged membership, utilizing TAG ME, the Captains Program, and the Communications Advisory Group.

-Combating egregious studio outsourcing by supporting the tax incentive task force and political outreach for federal and local animation incentives in the country.

-Continuing to organize non-union animation studios across the country, including indie studios by building a low-budget agreement model.

-Supporting IATSE organizing efforts in adjacent industries our members have crossover with, like VFX and Games.

While Animation has both similar and unique challenges to Games, our biggest difference is that we have our union- an incredible tool to fight for what we deserve. I don’t take that for granted, and I’m committed to put in the work to build a secure future for Animation with all of you!

OFFICER SEAT

A TAG member since 2019, current sitting member of the Executive Board, and a professional grassroots Political Organizer, I’m applying my experience to bridge perspectives and help build a stronger union. I’m lucky enough to sustain an art career while also serving my community, and I’ve worked union as a Color Designer, Background Painter, and Vis Dev artist. In my work in Los Angeles local politics, I’ve acted as Lead Organizer for multiple winning, insurgent grassroots campaigns, and currently serve proudly as Field Director for an incumbent City Councilperson up for re-election. I feel that I was taught by the very best about how to build power in different communities, and help people understand what it takes to improve their material conditions. The lessons I learned in the field are exactly what I’m bringing to TAG, through my work in the Negotiations Committee, in TAG ME, and on the Executive Board. We’re facing uncertain times ahead for the next three years, but I’ve seen firsthand what people can accomplish through collective action. Amazing things can be achieved by people fighting together for a shared cause, and I’m committed to building a strength at TAG that can not be broken. 

OFFICER SEAT

I have been working in the film and animation industry for 33 years and been a member of TAG for the last 28. Throughout those years I have had the privilege of working in many different studios and departments experiencing many different cultures, environments and circumstances. Since moving to the US in 1998 I have worked as a Technical Director at WBFA and, for the last 23 years, at DreamWorks Animation.

In 2024 I joined the nascent TAG Captains program as a department captain for our TDs and FX artists. Soon after, myself and two other captains stepped up and became Shop Stewards at Dreamworks. It was our co-workers in the TV division that inspired me to take these next steps. Witnessing their fearless, righteous energy, their indomitable spirit and their amazing leadership made me realize that after many cushy years on the feature side it was high time for me to pay it forward.

As stewards our greatest achievement so far has been to drastically increase engagement at the studio, which enabled us to provide strong and visible support for our production colleagues, who just recently ratified their first contract! Similarly we are now standing in solidarity behind our remote workers, who have just started out on this journey. We managed to accomplish this by being proactively present in our union siblings’ lives, through direct communication and by establishing onboarding and end date presentations to help educate our members about our union and to ensure they know we are here for them.

As a board member I hope to take the ideas, strategies and techniques we employed successfully at one specific studio and turn them into a general toolset for all members at all studios with the goal of growing engagement across the board. For together we are stronger!

OFFICER SEAT

I spent 18 years working non-union in New York City – I worked storyboards, animation, and design in series, feature, advertising, and became a professor at SVA.  In 2022, I was part of successfully organizing Titmouse NY, a monumental step for our national local at TAG.  I’m tremendously proud of our gains in New York that have led to organizing production workers as well as expanding TAG.  Since then, I’ve become a full-time organizer for IATSE, working to help folx in video games and VFX charter new national locals!  From these experiences, I’ve learned a lot about TAG, IATSE, other crafts, negotiations of first-time contracts, long-standing contracts, and the power it takes to win.

The future depends on workers having each others’ backs – we need to support people working for smaller studios and bigger studios alike.  Negotiating a low-budget agreement for TAG would be a huge first step for us to be able to cover artists and production workers at smaller shops.  As an executive board member, I would continue our support for organizing in indie animation, as well as at advertising agencies, YouTube studios, and others that are outside of the traditional film and TV spaces.  Utilizing our community organizing tools such as TAG ME, our Communications Advisory Group, and other member-to-member outreach, I’d encourage us to continue to engage membership in meaningful ways for collective power for all of our contracts.  Education for our membership about contract language, our rights as union workers, and ongoing stewardship support and training will also help us to uphold the wins we fought hard for at the table.  I’d also bolster our continued involvement with 938 in Canada and IATSE’s connections to UNI Global to support animation workers abroad. Animation is global, and solving issues around the world supports our work at home.

OFFICER SEAT

I’m a Queer artist, workers’ rights advocate, Art Director, and Color Designer extraordinaire. Working in animation for over 13 years, I have had the privilege of seeing TAG grow. I co-founded the Queer/Trans Committee for The Animation Guild and have been proud to serve as Co-Chair for 7 years now. My focus has been ensuring LGBTQIA+ voices are represented and empowered in our industry and beyond. I will continue to fight for visibility so that Queer and Trans individuals feel confident pursuing a healthy career in animation.

Serving on the IATSE DEI Committee, I assisted in the creation of the IATSE Census, where I was able to ensure proper representation for TAG. Having participated in several D2’s and Quads as a delegate for TAG, I’ve authored and passed resolutions to strengthen LGBTQIA+ protections, including proposals urging locals to reevaluate health insurance, adopt WPATH trans medical care standards, secure fair prescription coverage, and demanding inclusive, gender-affirming care.

As a part of TAG’s contract negotiating team, I gave presentations to the AMPTP and talked directly to them fighting for our membership, organized and energized our membership to utilize our power, crafted resolutions and contract language, helped lead and win the charge for pay equity of color designers, won recognition for Art Directors, and secured adequate bathroom accommodations for all in our workplaces. Each of these victories came from my deep commitment to member solidarity and equity.

I believe every member deserves to feel represented, supported, and empowered – whether in contract negotiations, in healthcare, or in the visibility of our diverse communities. I remain dedicated to making our union stronger, more inclusive, and a place where every member knows they belong.

OFFICER SEAT

I’m a writer with zero artistic abilities, so I love being part of a union with such a wide variety of skills and talent – I’m always in awe of our membership! I hit the ground running when I joined TAG in 2023. When I heard the call to join the AI Task Force, I signed up as fast as I could! Over the course of the year, we learned as much as we could about the threat the technology poses and came up with a variety of strategies to protect TAG workers. Along with other members of the Task Force, I continued that work in the 2024 Negotiations Committee, where we advocated for the best possible protections for our members across many conversations with the studios’ technology lawyers. But we knew the work of protecting our members from AI did not end with a ratified contract, so I became Co-Chair of the AI Committee, where we continue to monitor AI use across the industry. I’ve also been a delegate in the 2024 and 2025 District (and Quadrennial) Conventions, which have given me the opportunity to hear about how other IATSE locals are handling AI. My variety of experiences since I joined TAG have made it clear to me how important it is that we give new members accessible entry points–as an officer of the executive board, I hope to make sure everyone knows from the second they get their membership card that they too can have an impact on our union.

OFFICER SEAT

With close to 20 years of experience working in NYC’s animation industry, I’ve done it all: working in every aspect of production and on virtually every kind of media. When I joined Titmouse NYC, I helped lead our organizing effort and worked to unionize the studio by taking part in both the organizing committee and the negotiations committee. Through this unprecedented work, we joined TAG, expanding its reach into the national level and, for the first time, including production workers in our union. Following this, I acted as Shop Steward for our unit and advocated for East Coast workers within TAG. I am immensely proud of our unit and the gains they accomplished; however, I see that as only the beginning.

Our industry faces new and unforeseen challenges. Massive layoffs, outsourcing, and the rise of AI imagery have many of us in animation worried. It is precisely at this moment that we must band together, stronger than ever, to fight for our dignity as workers. If elected, my goals will be:

-Focusing foremost on member engagement, through the captains program, TAG.me, and other avenues, to build an inclusive union where members (new and old) are heard and involved.

-Continuing to expand TAG by working to organize indie, remote, national, and international animation workers.

-Leveraging our collective strength politically to push legislation that protects workers against threats like AI and outsourcing.

-Building relationships with other locals across different trades, both nationally and internationally, to further the cause of workers’ rights.

OFFICER SEAT

As a 17+ year veteran in CG Look Development and a current Executive Board member, I have had a deep passion for animation both as an artform and for the people who create it. Devoting time to things like participating in multiple Negotiations Committees, several D2 and Quadrennial Conventions, and Co-Chair Committees has never felt like an obligation, but rather, it is a calling and a privilege. My specific priorities and plans would include:

-Improving membership education & outreach through co-chairing the new Communications Advisory Group with fellow member David DePasquale

-Direct advocacy for members by continuing work in Negotiation, Conventions, and TAG Committees. 

-Continuing to build worker protection and strength through organizing and building coalitions with other IATSE locals and labor advocacy organizations.

If there is one thing I have learned over the past 10 years in TAG, it is that all of this, all of the preparation and training and research, does not work without an engaged membership. As an EBoard member, my compass has always been that I am a representative; it is my job to listen to members, and when I act in a leadership capacity, it is the members’ goals and positions I am championing. Providing members with the knowledge, tools, and resources to bring their ideas to fruition has always been a priority. Being an EBoard member, to me, is about serving this community and all people in it, regardless of craft or stage of their career. Of all the work I have done in animation, supporting animation workers through the union is the thing I believe has been the most important, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue doing this work with you all.