After elections ran from June 1 to 5, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has welcomed its newly elected 2020-2021 Board of Governors.

 With this new election cycle came six new governors elected for the first time, setting new records for the Academy in representation for women and people of color. This year, out of a 54-person board, the number of women (26) and people of color (12) saw an increase from the previous year’s 25 and 11, respectively. 

Governors elected for the first time include Selma and A Wrinkle in Time director Ava DuVernay (directors branch), Debra Zane (casting directors branch), Linda Flowers (makeup artists and hairstyling branch ), Lynette Howell Taylor (producers branch), Rob Bredow (visual effects branch) and Stephen Rivkin (film editors branch). Three of the six new governors (Zane, Flowers and Rivkin) succeeded their incumbent governors (Lora Kennedy, Kathryn L. Blondell and Michael Tronick, respectively) after they termed out, meaning that they served three consecutive terms on the board and are now required to take at least a one year hiatus. DuVernay and Bredow defeated the incumbents in their branch- Kimberly Peirce and Richard Edlund, respectively, while the third incumbent not re-elected, Tom Sito (short films and feature animation branch), will be replaced by a returning Jon Bloom.

Meanwhile, 10 out of 13 incumbents who sought re-election retained their spots on the board: Whoopi Goldberg (actors branch), Mandy Walker (cinematographers branch), Kate Amend (documentary branch), David Linde (executives branch), Larry Karaszewski (writers branch), Wynn P. Thomas (production designers branch), Isis Mussenden (costume designers branch), Charles Bernstein (music branch), Teri E. Dorman (sound branch) and Christian Kounelias (marketing and public relations branch). 

The new 2020-2021 Board of Governors will take office at the first regularly scheduled board meeting of the new term.