Union strong wma
We are an experienced team of Union Strong WMA candidates, who want to share our vision for the future of the Washington-MidAtlantic local, and ask for your support.
Jack Speer for National Board - Broadcaster
Lance Lewman for National Board - Actor Performer
Kathryn Klvana for President
Tracee Wilkins for Vice President
Keith Flippen for Secretary
Our experience representing you on the local executive board, on national committees, and as alternates on the national board has prepared us to meet the challenges we face in the next few years. Much like this country, our union faces divisions that threaten to upset the progress we’ve made over the last decade. We are concerned about the interests of LA infiltrating our local, and that is why we decided to come together to run as a team, Union Strong WMA.
We are dedicated to protecting the strength and viability of the Washington-Mid Atlantic local by preserving and expanding work opportunities here. Our local is unique. It spans four states and the District of Columbia, and encompasses nearly 5,000 members. We have fought for innovative contracts and specially targeted waivers that allow us to organize Commercial and Corporate-Educational work, resulting in more jobs for members. As organizers and presenters, we’ve contributed to our vibrant conservatory program, one of the best in the country, and enriched the professional skills of so many.
Broadcasters make up a large percentage of our local and we want to ensure that their voices are heard when decisions are made at the national level. We want to continue to create strong contracts and protect pay scales and benefits for all broadcasters.
Collectively, we have given many decades of volunteer service to the union and specifically to the WMA local. We love living and working here, and want to continue to help keep it strong. Above all, we will put the interests of our members first.
Please vote for the Union Strong WMA team! Click here for Local Board Candidates and more
JACK SPEER for National Board - Broadcaster
Jack Speer is a newscaster at NPR in Washington and has been a member of legacy AFTRA, now SAG-AFTRA, since 1988. An alternate on the “Group of One,” which completed the historic merger between AFTRA and the Screen Actors Guild in 2012, Jack also serves on the National Organizing Committee, The Broadcast Steering Committee, Washington Mid-Atlantic Local Board, RASCALS, and SAG-AFTRA Foundation Board. In conjunction with his broadcast work Jack is currently an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Carey School of Business. He works with members to help organize public media and to serve as an effective voice within the union for issues relevant to broadcasters. He will be a strong effective voice on the National Board and for members in the Washington-Mid-Atlantic local.
LANCE LEWMAN for National Board - Actor Performer
Lance Lewman has been a devoted union member since 1973 and started his union service work in 1992 as a member of the Wages & Working Conditions committee in legacy SAG. Since then, he has spent decades in union service, including legacy SAG Council, the AFTRA Board, and the last eight years as the Washington-Mid-Atlantic local President. As modern technology has brought our union members together, at the national level, we are now starting to recognize and appreciate the challenge that poses to the eco-system that is our WMA local. It is imperative we stay vigilant in the values and strengths that make our local industry prosper and thrive. Lance has been a fulltime working union performer for more than forty years and has been honored to serve our WMA local for nearly thirty years. After this devastating Pandemic, it is his hope that he will be able to extend his service and his devotion to our members and continue to serve our local union brothers and sisters on the National level as our National Board member going forward.
KATHRYN KLVANA - for President
A member since 1985, Kathryn Klvana has lived and worked in this local since 1994, served as a board member for the last 15, and as secretary for the last four. Passionate about education, Kathryn has worked hard as WMA Conservatory Chair to bring extraordinary learning opportunities to members. She serves on the National Commercial Performer Committee, National Conservatory Committee, and as Vice Chair of the National Voiceover Committee. Through her work on three contract negotiations, she developed a fuller understanding of our contracts and the challenges of our evolving industry. Protecting wages, keeping members safe, growing job opportunities by organizing new work are among her top priorities. With good relationships with staff, and a deep knowledge of our market, she looks forward to the opportunity to lead as we head back to work.
TRACEE WILKINS - for Vice President
A member of the union since 1997, Tracee Wilkins is a reporter and shop steward for NBC Washington (WRC). She has served on the local executive board for nearly 10 years, and is a member of our local’s Broadcast Steering Committee. Her goal is to continue to foster inclusiveness and unity for all members of our Local. She’ll fight for strong contracts, safe and fair working conditions, and equitable pay for our actor/performers and broadcasters. Tracee was recently appointed Vice-Chair of the National Broadcast Steering Committee, and is honored to serve in this capacity after actively working on the National BSC for nearly 10 years. She feels the power of a unified and stable union is more important now than ever and she wants our national Union to reflect the cohesiveness demonstrated in our own Local. A fighter with a passion for worker's rights, Tracee seeks the opportunity to give back and help others as Vice President.
KEITH FLIPPEN - for Secretary
As a member since 1997, Keith has worked every corner of the Washington Mid-Atlantic local and knows we’re one of the most diverse locals in SAG-AFTRA. From Washington to Wilmington, we all work a little differently but work together to protect our members, our wages, and ensure safe working conditions – a mission Keith has been especially proud of as our industry changes and faces new challenges like the pandemic. As a passionate advocate for our craft and Guild, his main priority is to build a closer connection between our different localities through education and outreach. Only together can we face the challenges ahead.
In Keith’s four years of WMA Board service, he has been a member of the Actor-Performer and the Conservatory Committees - offering workshops on dialects, technology for capturing demo reel material, and speech resources. He has also served 4 years on the National Representatives Committee addressing the abusive GSAs actors have been required to accept as terms of representation - these agreements meant having to pay commission on residuals far beyond those our legacy agreements required. In 2019, he became Vice-Chair of the National LGBTQ Committee and Chair of the newly-created Mid Atlantic local LGBTQ Committee.
You can learn more about Keith by visiting his candidacy page at KeithFlippen.org
Not paid for with SAG-AFTRA funds. Titles used for identification purposes only.