SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other media professionals.

SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. With national offices in Los Angeles and New York, and local offices nationwide, SAG-AFTRA members work together to secure the strongest protections for media artists into the 21st century and beyond.

Rebecca Damon is Executive Director, New York Local, Labor Policy and International Affairs for SAG-AFTRA. A champion for workers’ rights, Damon’s leadership includes strengthening New York’s right of publicity and digital image rights for the benefit of all members. She has been recognized five years in a row as one of the most noteworthy figures on the front lines of New York by City and State Labor Power 100, and was named to the City and State 2023 Power of Diversity: Women 100 list. In 2018, Damon was honored with the New York LaborPress Leadership Award for her outstanding advocacy on behalf of SAG-AFTRA members and her long standing dedication and support of the labor movement. Additionally, she was a recipient of the Irish Echo Connecting America Award, the Leaders of Labor Award, the SAG-AFTRA George Heller Memorial Award gold card, and SAG-AFTRA New York Local’s Joseph C. Riley Award.

Damon served as executive vice president, the union’s second-highest elected national office, and also served as president of the New York Local. She is a fierce advocate for education and empowerment of performers nationwide. During her tenure as Screen Actors Guild New York Division Vice President, she was a founding member of both the SAG President’s Forum for One Union and the joint Group for One Union, helping lead the effort to unite SAG and AFTRA. As co-leader of the Operations Workgroup, Damon was a key architect of the merger. 

Outside of SAG-AFTRA, Damon advocates for workers’ rights as a vice president of the New York State AFL-CIO Executive Council and a member of the New York City Central Labor Council. She is a member of the New York City Film and Television Production Industry Council advising on the city’s production policies and programs. She is on the board of PowHer NY, an inclusive statewide network committed to securing economic equality for all New York women. She is also a vice president of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, an educational, humanitarian and philanthropic nonprofit organization. As the primary liaison for Foundation programming in New York, she oversaw creation of the Robin Williams Center for Entertainment and Media in Times Square.

Michelle Zettergren joined MagnaCare in 2017, becoming the first female President in the organization’s 34-year history and part of a diverse leadership team focused on serving the needs of self-funded clients with groundbreaking products and solutions.

Since joining MagnaCare, Michelle has led initiatives that have transformed the business — including new strategic health system alliances, market leading technology, increased customer acquisition and retention, national market expansion, market-leading NPS, and enhanced Trust Fund Administrative service offerings. She has a passion for partnering with Labor Funds to build innovative, collaborative, member-focused solutions.

Michelle has also received multiple honors for her outstanding leadership, including recognitions from Crain’s Notables in Healthcare (2020, 2022 and 2023) and Power Women on Long Island (2020). She is consistently named to the City and State’s Labor Power 100 list (2019-2023) and has been honored by Schneps Media as a New York Labor Leader (2021-2023).

Michelle has over 25+ years of experience in the health insurance industry primarily focused on Labor and Public Sector. She has worked for several national and regional carriers in various leadership roles. She has completed Labor Relations training with the University of Connecticut’s Office of Labor Relations. Michelle is a certified Mediator who has consulted in numerous Labor negotiations and has served as an expert witness for Labor in several successful arbitration and mediation disputes.

Michelle has served on multiple local and national boards including the American Association of Payers, Administrators and Networks (AAPAN), Special Olympics Connecticut and she currently serves on the Board of United Way of Long Island. Michelle is routinely invited to share her insights on healthcare issues and solutions at industry events and as a guest contributor in multiple publications. Michelle holds multiple state licenses in Accident & Health.

Kevin R. Free is a multidisciplinary artist whose work as an actor, writer, director, and producer has been showcased and developed in many places, including The Fire This Time Festival, where he served as Producing Artistic Director for 5 years, winning an Obie for his work in 2015. He is now the Artistic Director of Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken, NJ (www.milesquaretheatre.org), where most recently he directed Berta, Berta by Angelica Cherí. Favorite Directing Credits include Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill (Peterborough Players); Pass Over (Marin Theater Company); and The Play That Goes Wrong (Portland Stage Company). He is a member of the Historic Apollo Theatre’s New Works Lab, where he is developing a solo show for André De Shields.  He was honored in 2023 by Audiofile Magazine as a Golden Voice, for his lifetime of work as an audiobook narrator. Instagram: @kevinrfree More info: www.kevinrfree.com

Reynaldo Piniella has been seen on Broadway in Trouble in Mind and Thoughts of a Colored Man. Off-Broadway: The Death of the Last Black Man…, Venus (Signature), The Skin of Our Teeth (TFANA), Lockdown (Rattlestick), The Space Between the Letters (The Public/UTR), Black and Blue (Ars Nova’s ANT Fest) and The Best of Theatreworks (Working Theater). TV credits include Reservation Dogs, Sneaky Pete, Law & Order: SVU, The Carrie Diaries, Flesh & Bone, Blue Bloods, Greenleaf, Louie, NYC 22, Us & Them and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. As a playwright, his work includes Black Doves (Thomas Barbour award for Playwriting), Real Life RPG (commissioned by Baltimore Center Stage, produced by San Diego Rep, Shakesqueer Theater Company and Pioneer Theater Guild), No Shade (produced by the Lee Strasberg Institute at NYU Tisch), I’m Old School (produced by Single Carrot Theater) and Black and Blue (Ars Nova’s ANT Fest.) www.reynaldopiniella.com. @ReynaldoRey

Sharone Sayegh (she/her) is a multi-disciplinary theater artist based in NYC. As an actor she has performed on Broadway as Bonnie in Come From Away, originated the role of Anna in The Band’s Visit (OBC) which won 10 Tony Awards, and made her Broadway debut in Mamma Mia! She has written, directed, and produced Off-Broadway and regionally, having worked at some of the most prestigious theaters in the country including The Atlantic, Ars Nova, La Jolla Playhouse, Prospect Theater Co, and The Muny. She has also appeared on Television in Law & Order (NBC), Instinct (CBS) ,and Limitless (CBS). She is a 23/24 ‘The Workshop’ fellow, the co-writer of the new musical The Game Boy, and is currently writing The Goldsmith, a play stemming from her family’s true stories, across countries, borders, and generations. Syracuse University Alum, www.sharonesayegh.com @sharonesayegh

Barry Ó Séanáin is an arts administrator and musician from Dublin, Ireland. He has played the saloons and speakeasies of this fine city for many years. By day he works at Irish Arts Center as a fundraiser, and by night he writes mediocre yet heart wrenching ballads about his chronic singleness.