Angel Rivera – National Director Of Diversity/Affirmative Action @ Screen Actors Guild.

Screen Actors Guild National Executive Director/CEO A. Robert Pisano and General Counsel David White announced the appointment of Angel Rivera as SAG’s national director of diversity/affirmative action, effective October 17. Rivera will be based in Los Angeles and will report to White.

This newly created national position expands the Guild’s long-standing dedication to broadening the workplace to more accurately reflect the American Scene. Rivera will develop and promote educational programs, conferences, workshops and symposia designed to raise industry and community awareness regarding diversity in television and film programming. Under his guidance, SAG will further enhance its network casting seminars and advance efforts to improve employment for performers of color, women, seniors and performers with disabilities. Rivera will oversee EEO/ADA compliance and the enforcement of all SAG non-discrimination contract provisions. He will also implement programs to better monitor the hiring practices of SAG employers and design protocols for reporting casting breakdown information and documentation of alleged discriminatory practices for use in collective bargaining.

“SAG continues to appreciate and honor the diversity in our ranks. The creation of this senior management position and the naming of an executive with extensive experience in the media business underscores our commitment to ensuring all our members are equally represented,” said Pisano. “ We are doing this not only because it fulfills our mission of serving our members, but because it is right.”

Angel Rivera has an extensive employment history in public, non-profit, education and the private sector. He joins the Guild from Foote, Cone and Belding Worldwide where he was Director of Corporate Global Diversity. Before he was assigned to work with FCB to incorporate diversity initiatives into their strategic business plan, Rivera managed the diversity efforts at the Interpublic Group of Companies and True North Communications. Rivera served as Chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies’ Diversity/Equal Employment Opportunity Committee and Chairman of the Ad Club of New York’s Changing Face of Advertising Committee. He is a member of the American Advertising Federation’s Multicultural Business Practice Leadership Council and sits on the Board of Advisors of the TORCH program for inner-city high school students interested in advertising and media. After graduating from Fordham University, Rivera served three New York mayors as an audit analyst, a labor/management facilitator and a project planner in the Mayor’s Office. Under the former Mayor Giuliani’s administration, Rivera served as a Special Assistant to the Fire Commissioner and Director of Employment Initiatives at the New York City Fire Department.

“ I am very excited about the opportunity to work with Bob Pisano, David White and the rest of the SAG team,” said Rivera. “SAG is poised to take its leadership role in promoting an inclusive industry culture and providing greater opportunities for people who have been historically under-represented in the film, television and advertising industries.”

The Screen Actors Guild has a long history of advocating equal access to employment for all its members, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, age or physical ability. That history includes collecting and publishing casting data statistics provided by SAG signatory producers (as mandated by the collective bargaining agreement since 1983), educating decision-makers through symposiums, studies and face-to-face meetings, and publishing directories and other resources for casting professionals, increasing access for performers of color, seniors, women and performers with disabilities to casting directors. Earlier this year, SAG re-established EEOC sub-committees, emphasizing the union’s mission to positively influence the entertainment industry through its policies and committees.