The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday that former executive Meredith Shea has been named its first Director of Membership, Impact and Industry. Shea will oversee the overall strategy and implementation of many Academy ventures, including new member cultivation and outreach, awards administration, rules and regulations, membership branch structural changes, member engagement, and industry, film festivals and international strategies, talent development programs and industry diversity, equity, accessibility, inclusion and sustainability efforts.
“We are delighted to welcome Meredith back to the Academy in this leadership position,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer said in a statement. “Her vast knowledge of the film industry and Academy membership, along with her commitment to building and nurturing a diverse and equitable global film community, make her a perfect match for this new role.”
“I have a deep connection to the Academy and its members,” Shea said in a statement. “This is a pivotal moment in the Academy’s history, and it is a joy and an enormous responsibility to support our industry and lead initiatives that connect people and communities through film.”
Shea served as a Membership and Awards executive at the Academy for a decade, overseeing the Directors, Film Editors, Feature Shorts and Animation, and Writers branches, a role that tasked her with managing rules, submissions, and vote for the animated feature and the international feature film Oscar categories.
Most recently, Shea was hired as Director of Industry Relations at TRAININGa social impact collective dedicated to narrative change, where she oversaw the personnel database designed to connect underrepresented team members below the line with the studios.