WIA elects co-presidents

The co-presidents are Margaret Dean (pictured, at left), director of production for Mattel’s newly formed Playground Productions, and Kristy Scanlan (pictured, at right), Technicolor vp of business development, animation and games.

WIA has also formed a new executive committee, board of directors and advisory committee. Retiring co-presidents Rita Street and Jan Nagel will continue to support WIA as members of the advisory committee.

Dean and Scanlan are charged with leading the restructured WIA, communicating the organisation’s current role and future vision to its members worldwide. 

Encompassing women from all aspects of the animation industry, WIA envisions a world in which “women share fully in the creation, production and rewards of animation, resulting in richer and more diverse entertainment and media that move our culture forward.”

The executive committee includes: Barbara Cimity as treasurer and Dawn Rivera-Ernster as secretary.

The new WIA board of directors will include Dean, Scanlan, Cimity and Rivera-Ernster, along with Jinko Gotoh as chair of chapter support, Tracy Campbell as chair of programming, Anna Jordan-Douglass as chair of marketing and Karen Kirkland as chair of member services.

In addition to Street and Nagel, the new WIA advisory committee comprises: Bonnie Arnold as Chair, Jenna Boyd, Ann Le Cam, Lenora Hume and Adina Pitt.

“Women have always played a vitally important role in animation in spite of history’s having overlooked or underplayed many of their contributions,” said Dean.

“I’m looking forward to collaborating with Kristy and WIA to organise and represent the collective interests of women engaged in all aspects of animation, whether as independent filmmakers, studio artists or business executives, and believe that by working together we can create greater opportunities for us all.”

“There’s power in numbers, especially when we speak with a strong, unified voice,” added Scanlan. “As co-presidents of WIA, Marge and I are proud to represent such an accomplished group of women who, regardless of the specific roles they have in animation, share our concerns and interests in improving the quality of work, influencing other aspects of the entertainment industry and inspiring creative minds to join our ranks.”