SAG-AFTRA Awards George Heller Memorial Gold Card to Union Officers

Today SAG-AFTRA announced Sheila Ivy Traister, Michele Proude, Janice Pendarvis and Stacey Travis as recipients of the George Heller Memorial Award gold cards in recognition for their outstanding contributions to SAG-AFTRA and its members.

The George Heller Memorial Award is presented every two years at SAG-AFTRA’s national convention and bestowed based on contributions and years of service to SAG-AFTRA or its predecessor unions. Honorees are selected by the National Honors and Tributes Committee members from around the country. This year’s recipients are:

SAG-AFTRA Former National Board Member Sheila Ivy Traister
Traister began her union service in 1994 in both legacy unions in Colorado, served as president and National Board member from 2012-2021, and currently serves on six national committees. She’s an advocate for inclusivity, particularly for our Asian Pacific Islander, performers with disabilities, and military veteran members. She teaches acting, writing and directing, and the business of acting with emphasis on the benefits of union membership. A VP on the Executive Board of the Colorado AFL-CIO, she was instrumental in helping to pass film incentive legislation in Colorado.

SAG-AFTRA National Vice President, Mid-Sized Locals Michele Proude
Compassionate, articulate, and determined, Proude has served on local and national committees and as New England Local president. She was first elected by her fellow SAG-AFTRA convention delegates as the national vice president of the mid-sized locals in 2019, and was elected to her third term in 2023. As a leader, she’s known for being open and communicative and she cultivates an environment where people can disagree and debate respectfully. As an accomplished performer, she is an invaluable resource for her knowledge of SAG-AFTRA’s constitution, union governance, and her ability to find solutions and get things done. Proude has managed to balance a very full home life, a busy career and union service, and is devoted to making SAG-AFTRA the very best that it can be.

SAG-AFTRA National Vice President, Recording Artists/Singers Janice Pendarvis
A singer and voice actor who has spent years fighting for singers legislatively and within the union, Pendarvis’ priority has always been creating more union work for SAG-AFTRA members — especially those working in the recording industry. Currently serving her second term as SAG-AFTRA’s national vice president, recording artists/singers, her legacy in union service is almost as impressive as her career; she began as a songwriter and a singer working with artists such as Roberta Flack, Sting, David Bowie, Steely Dan, Peter Tosh and the Rolling Stones. In addition to her performing, she recently retired from Berklee College of Music as a Professor in the Voice Department after seventeen years of service, and has been an adjunct professor working with the Vocal Performance and Songwriting programs at NYU-Steinhardt for the past ten years, assisting the next generation of musicians in the pursuit of their dreams.

Former SAG-AFTRA National Board Member Stacey Travis
For over three decades, Travis has been dedicated to union service. She was first elected to the SAG Board in 2008, and her extraordinary leadership accomplishments include revolutionizing SAG-AFTRA’s low budget contracts and fighting fiercely for over a decade to remove ages and birthdates from IMDb. She also devotes her time and energy to ensuring that our members are educated about contract changes and opportunities, and helps to drive SAG-AFTRA’s legislative agenda in California and Washington, D.C. Whether she’s tracking state and national actions, researching vital legislation or educating members, Travis is always working to help members and strengthen SAG-AFTRA.

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.