The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday announced that former executive Meredith Shea has been named its first ever Chief Membership, Impact and Industry Officer. Shea will oversee general strategy and implementation of many Academy ventures, including new member cultivation and outreach, awards administration, rules and regulations, membership branch structural changes, member and industry engagement, film festival and international strategies, talent development programs and industry diversity, equity, accessibility, inclusion and sustainability efforts.
“We are thrilled 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 makes her a perfect professional for this new role.”
“I have a deep connection to the Academy and its membership,” Shea said in a statement. “This is a pivotal time in the Academy’s history, and it’s both 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, Short Films & Feature Animation and Writers branches, a role which tasked her with administration of rules, submissions and voting for the Animated Feature and International Feature Film Oscar categories.
More recently, Shea was employed as the Director of Industry Relations at ARRAY, a social impact collective dedicated to narrative change, where she oversaw the personnel database designed to connect underrepresented below-the-line crew members with studios.