Janet Yang Re-Elected President of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

1 August, 2023

Producer Janet Yang was re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the organization’s board of governors, the Academy announced on Tuesday (Aug. 1).

Yang is the fourth woman to serve as president of the Academy. Oscar-winning actress Bette Davis was the first in 1941, though she resigned after just two months in the post. Fay Kanin served from 1979-83; Cheryl Boone Isaacs reigned from 2013-17.

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Yang is beginning her second term as president and her fifth year as a governor-at-large, a position for which she was nominated by sitting Academy president David Rubin in 2019 and elected by the board of governors in 2022.

Yang’s film producing credits include The Joy Luck Club, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Zero Effect, High Crimes, Dark Matter, Shanghai Calling and the Oscar-nominated animated feature Over the Moon.  She won a Primetime Emmy in 1995 for the HBO film Indictment: The McMartin Trial, which was voted outstanding made for television movie. A member of the Academy’s producers branch since 2002, Yang previously served on the board as vp and chair of the membership committee and, prior to that, the membership and governance committee.

Also elected to officer positions by the board:

  • Bonnie Arnold, vice president (chair, membership committee)
  • Howard Berger, vice president (chair, museum committee)
  • Brooke Breton, vice president (chair, education and outreach committee)
  • Tom Duffield, vice president/treasurer (chair, finance committee)
  • DeVon Franklin, vice president (chair, equity and inclusion committee)
  • Lynette Howell Taylor, vice president (chair, awards committee)
  • Howard A. Rodman, vice president/secretary (chair, governance committee)
  • Kim Taylor-Coleman, vice president (chair, history and preservation committee)

Howell Taylor and Taylor-Coleman were re-elected as officers.  It will be the first officer stint for Berger, Breton, Duffield and Rodman. Arnold previously served as an officer in 2019-20 and Franklin in 2021-22.

“I am thrilled to welcome this year’s board officers,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer said in a statement. “Under Janet’s esteemed leadership, these dedicated governors will guide the Academy’s ongoing efforts to elevate the work of our global membership and film community, highlight our industry’s rich history, foster meaningful dialogue and continue to build equity and inclusion in every aspect of our organization.”

The board of governors sets the Academy’s strategic vision, preserves the organization’s financial health and assures the fulfillment of its mission.

Board members may serve up to two three-year terms (consecutive or non-consecutive), followed by a two-year hiatus, after which eligibility renews for up to two additional three-year terms for a lifetime maximum of 12 years.  Officers serve one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive years in any one office.

Paul Grein

Billboard