The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) has named producer/development executive Kimberly Myers as the guild’s new director of diversity.
She will work with production companies, producers, networks and studios “to promote a higher profile for writers of diverse backgrounds,” a guild statement noted.
WGAW Executive Director David Young said Myers will “focus not only on working with the entertainment industry to create real opportunities for such worthy writers, but also enforce protected class provisions in our current (contract) to help those under-employed and potentially excluded writers raise their authentic voices.”
Myers will be responsible for designing, developing and implementing a slate of programs and activities to increase employment access for “protected-class” writers, which includes age, sex, ethnicity, sexual preferences and physical disabilities.
In addition to supervising the WGAW’s member-driven diversity committees, Myers will serve as primary representative and spokesperson for the WGAW in areas of affirmation action and employment access.
Myers, who came out of public television, formerly was head of development for feature films, television series and telefilms at Maya Pictures, a production company dedicated to the American Latino market. Earlier, she was VP of movies and miniseries at Fox Television Studios.
