Los Angeles (December 13, 2005) – Screen Actors Guild executive Ilyanne Morden Kichaven has been named to the senior-level post of Hollywood executive director, it was announced today by the Guild. An entertainment industry veteran and five-year Guild executive, Kichaven will work directly with the Hollywood Division board and the organization’s national executive director. In the role, she will be responsible for representing the interests of the Hollywood Division board and for shaping strategies that advance the interests of the Guild’s nearly 70,000 Hollywood members, which comprises almost 60 percent of the Guild’s national membership. She will formally assume the new position sometime after the New Year.
“I’m extremely pleased that Ilyanne will be stepping into this critically important position,” said Anne-Marie Johnson, 1st national vice president and Hollywood board chair of Screen Actors Guild. “I and many of my colleagues in Hollywood have come to know and respect Ilyanne over the past several years, during which she has served as a tireless and effective advocate for us on countless issues. Her knowledge of the Guild and the issues facing Hollywood actors will enable her to hit the ground running. For many years, the Guild’s Hollywood members have not had a day-to-day executive whose sole focus was to protect and advance our interests. With this appointment, we not only have someone again, we have someone of superior quality."
Currently serving as the Guild’s national director of communications, Kichaven joined Screen Actors Guild as a consultant to the Communications Department in 2000. During her tenure, she has played a pivotal role in formulating media strategies and serving as a national spokesperson on a variety of initiatives. She has been responsible for managing the internal and external communications for the union’s 20 national branches, overseeing the Guild’s Web site and serving as consulting editor for Screen Actor, the Guild’s quarterly magazine.
“I am truly honored to be chosen for this role,” said Kichaven. “There are many challenges facing the Hollywood members of this great union and I am eager to get to work on their behalf. I want to express my gratitude to the Hollywood division board for placing their confidence in me to do this important job. We share a deep and sincere commitment to the Hollywood members of the Guild—particularly to strengthening and broadening our collective bargaining agreements and enhancing our advocacy efforts to make gains on key issues of concern to working actors in our industry’s capital.”
Before joining the Guild, Kichaven headed IMK, Inc., a public relations and marketing firm whose clients included First Look Pictures, Columbia TriStar, Cowboy Booking, Merchant Ivory Films, Strand Releasing and the non-profit organizations Children Now and Colors United dance troupe. She has also served in executive marketing and public relations roles at Overseas Filmgroup, 21st Century Films, Hemdale Films, and Stephen J. Cannell Production. Kichaven is an advisor to the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and holds a degree from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
About SAG
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is the nation’s largest labor union representing working actors. Established in 1933, SAG has a rich history in the American labor movement, from standing up to studios to break long-term engagement contracts in the 1940s to fighting for artists’ rights amid the digital revolution sweeping the entertainment industry in the 21st century. With 20 branches nationwide, SAG represents nearly 120,000 working actors in film, television, industrials, commercials, video games and music videos. The Guild exists to enhance actors’ working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists’ rights. SAG is a proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Headquartered in Los Angeles, you can visit SAG online at www.sag.org.
News
- Tags:
- Press Releases