The Directors Guild of America has extended National Executive Director Russell Hollander’s contract through the end of 2029.
Hollander has been part of the DGA since 2001, first serving as assistant executive director before being promoted to Eastern executive director in 2002 and associate national executive director/Eastern executive director in 2011. He has served as national executive director since 2017.
Over the past nine years, Hollander has led the DGA through the COVID pandemic, playing a key role in developing the industrywide return-to-work protocols that helped ensure on-set safety as productions slowly resumed in the fall of 2020. He has also served as the guild’s chief negotiator during its 2020 and 2023 contract cycles and will serve in the same role during this year’s talks, which begin May 11.
“For nearly a decade as our National Executive Director, Russ has been a steward for the Guild and its members, seeing us through a period of tremendous upheaval in our industry.” DGA President Christopher Nolan said. “From the pandemic to the strikes and the global contraction in production, Russ has always prioritized and protected the interests of our members, working closely with me, past Guild Presidents, and our National Board. We are grateful for his continued service to our community.”
A graduate of Harvard Law, Hollander was a partner at the labor law firm Cohen, Weiss, and Simon LLP prior to joining DGA, specializing in the representation of labor organizations and employee benefit plans.
“I’m honored by the Board’s continued confidence in my service to the membership, especially during times of incredible change.” Hollander said. “The beauty of our Guild is our defining, singular mission to advance the creative and economic rights of our members – and the secret to our longstanding success is the strong partnership between our elected leaders and our professional staff to fulfill that purpose. At a time when the rights of workers need strong champions, it is a privilege to dedicate myself to that purpose and to the members we serve.”
