Lesli Linka Glatter, president of the Directors Guild of America, has announced that director and DGA sixth VP Lily Olszewski has been appointed chair of the Guild’s Network Negotiating Committee. Director Brett Holey and associate director/DGA assistant secretary-treasurer Joyce Thomas have been appointed co-chairs. The DGA’s Network Negotiating Committee negotiates with ABC, NBC and CBS for DGA directors and their teams working in news, sports, operations and local.
Glatter said, “With decades of working experience at the top of their craft, combined with years of expertise as leaders in prior network negotiations, this team will be a significant asset to the Guild when it comes time to negotiate our network contracts in New York.”
The National Board of Directors unanimously approved these appointments at its recent March meeting. The DGA announced earlier this year that director Jon Avnet will chair, and directors Todd Holland and Karen Gaviola will co-chair, the Feature Film and Television Negotiating Committee.
The DGA’s current Network Agreement expires on June 30, 2023.
Olszewski is an Emmy-award winning director of ABC’s Good Morning America, where she has been for more than 13 years. She broke into the industry as an associate director at Spanish language TV station KVEA, where she received her first directing opportunity. Her credits include Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Jenny McCarthy Show, Latin Billboard Awards Red Carpet, Premios Fox and Sesame Street. A DGA member since 2015, she currently serves as the sixth VP of the DGA and is a member of the Eastern Directors Council, the Focus on Women Committee and was a co-chair of the Network Negotiations Committee in 2019.
Holey is the sr. director for NBC News, where he oversees the directing team, production and aesthetics. He has directed all NBC News programs including election coverage, breaking news and primetime programming. He’s currently working with the launch of NBC News Now, the first U.S.-based, international streaming news service. Previously, Holey served as director and sr. broadcast producer of the NBC Nightly News and director of special projects. Holey’s work has earned him 13 Emmys, a number of Edward R. Murrow Awards and a National Headliner Award. He has been DGA member since 1984, has served on the Eastern Directors Council and has previously served as co-chair of the Network Negotiations Committee for the past three negotiations.
Thomas has worked at CBS for more than 30 years, joining the Guild in 1996 as an associate director/technical supervisor in the Broadcast Operations Department and currently works as an associate director/technical manager at the network’s Media Distribution Center in New York. Thomas serves as assistant secretary-treasurer on the National Board and has served on the Eastern AD/SM/PA Council for more than 20 years, including three terms as Council chair. Thomas is co-chair of the Focus on Women Committee, a former co-chair of the Eastern Diversity Steering Committee and has served on three previous Network Negotiating Committees.
