Greek-American Christina Kounelias Elected to Academy Board of Governors

Christina Kounelias has been re-elected to the 2020-2021 Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

After an illustrious career in major Hollywood companies like Miramax and Warner Bros., Kounelias has been working as the Chief Marketing Officer of the Academy for the last few years. She was in charge of revamping the Oscars in the last few years to make the organization and the awards ceremony more personable.

Publicity moves, such as Ellen DeGeneres’ celebrity-filled selfie, which immediately went viral, were actually the brainchild of Kounelias. She has also increased the social media presence of the Academy and has won millions of new followers on the organization’s channels.

In addition to the re-elected officials on the Academy’s Board of Governors, there are some new high profile faces on this year’s board. These include famed director Ava DuVernay, Debra Zane, representing the Casting Directors Branch, and Linda Flowers in the Makeup and Hairstylists Branch. Flowers has been in charge of the hair department for high-profile films and series such as Apple TV’s “The Morning Show” and the movie “Widows.”

The full list of incumbent governors and newly elected governors is below.

Elected to the Board for the first time:

Debra Zane, Casting Directors Branch
Ava DuVernay, Directors Branch
Stephen Rivkin, Film Editors Branch
Linda Flowers, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch
Lynette Howell Taylor, Producers Branch
Rob Bredow, Visual Effects Branch

Incumbent governors reelected to the Board:

Whoopi Goldberg, Actors Branch
Mandy Walker, Cinematographers Branch
Isis Mussenden, Costume Designers Branch
Kate Amend, Documentary Branch
David Linde, Executives Branch
Christina Kounelias, Marketing and Public Relations Branch
Charles Bernstein, Music Branch
Wynn P. Thomas, Production Design Branch
Teri E. Dorman, Sound Branch
Larry Karaszewski, Writers Branch