Actors' Equity Association has announced the selection of Mary McColl as Executive Director, effective January, 2011. Ms. McColl succeeds Acting Executive Director Carol Waaser, who retires in 2011 after 26 years with the Union.
In her new role, Ms. McColl will oversee the collective bargaining process for more than 30 national and regional contracts and supervise Equity's nationally based professional staff. She will work closely with Equity's Council, the Union's governing body, to develop and implement national policy, establish goals and work with the staff to carry out Equity's strategic plan. She will be the Union's representative and lead spokesperson with the media, labor, bargaining partners and government officials.
"As Equity approaches its centennial, we are pleased to have Mary join the Equity team as Executive Director," said
Nick Wyman, President of
Actors' Equity Association. "She is a woman of strength and compassion, whose visionary style, balanced with longtime practical experience with various arts organizations, makes her the ideal person to guide Equity into its next 100 years. A proven leader, she is a respected member of both the New York and Minneapolis-St. Paul theatrical communities."
Ms. McColl joins Equity from her position as the Executive Director of the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts in Minneapolis. In that role she oversaw the renaming of the organization and the creation of a new branding and identity campaign as well as initiated improvements to the new theater's production spaces and finalized design details for the theater and the lobby. Prior to that position, Ms. McColl was the Director of Labor Relations for The Broadway League. She has been the Vice President of Operations for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and began her career at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, where she held several positions including a five year stint as the Vice President and General Manager.
"I am delighted and humbled to be offered the opportunity to be the Executive Director of
Actors' Equity," said Ms. McColl. "This is an exciting time for Equity, and its very talented creative membership, as the Union embarks on its next 100 years. It's also an important moment in the industry as the business and economics of theater continue to change and I look forward to working on behalf of Equity with its many bargaining partners nationwide to ensure the stability and growth of our industry."
Actors' Equity Association represents more than 49,000 Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions.
Actors' Equity Association will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2013.
