Janet Yang elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)

Producer Janet Yang was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the organization’s Board of Governors. She is only the fourth woman in Academy history to hold the post and first person of Asian descent.

“Janet is a tremendously dedicated and strategic leader who has an incredible record of service at the Academy.  She has been instrumental in launching and elevating several Academy initiatives on membership recruitment, governance, and equity, diversity, and inclusion,” noted Academy CEO Bill Kramer.  “I am thrilled that she is taking on the esteemed role of Academy President and look forward to working closely with her on our shared vision to serve our membership, celebrate the collaborative arts and sciences of motion pictures, and inspire the next generation of filmmakers.”

Other elected officers include:

• Teri E. Dorman, Vice President (chair, Membership Committee)
• Donna Gigliotti, Vice President/Secretary (chair, Governance Committee)
• Lynette Howell Taylor, Vice President (chair, Awards Committee)
• Larry Karaszewski, Vice President (chair, History and Preservation Committee)
• David Linde, Vice President/Treasurer (chair, Finance Committee)
• Isis Mussenden, Vice President (chair, Museum Committee)
• Kim Taylor-Coleman, Vice President (chair, Equity and Inclusion Committee)
• Wynn P. Thomas, Vice President (chair, Education and Outreach Committee)

Yang is beginning her first term as president and her second term as a Governor-at-Large, a position for which she was nominated by the sitting Academy President and elected by the Board of Governors.  Gigliotti, Karaszewski, Linde, Mussenden and Thomas were re-elected as officers.  It will be the first officer stint for Dorman, Howell Taylor and Taylor-Coleman.

Yang’s extensive 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 an Emmy for the HBO film “Indictment: The McMartin Trial.”  A member of the Academy’s Producers Branch since 2002, Yang most recently served on the Board as vice president and chair of the Membership Committee and prior to that, the Membership and Governance Committee.  She is also co-chair of the Academy’s Asian Affinity Group.

The Board of Governors sets the Academy’s strategic vision, preserves the organization’s financial health and assures the fulfillment of its mission.  For a complete listing of the Academy’s 2022-2023 Board of Governors, click here. 

Photo: Troy Harvey A.M.P.A.S.