Jennifer Ward-Lealand Elected As Vice-President Of Global Performers Unions Federation

This weekend in Birmingham, the president of the performers' union Equity New Zealand, Jennifer Ward-Lealand was elected to the top ranks of the global federation of actors’ unions, FIA (Federation Internationale des Acteurs.) at the World Congress. She joins five other vice-presidents from Canada, Sweden, Uruguay, the UK and France who, with President Gabriel Carteris from the USA, lead the global organisation that represents 87 performers unions from around the world.

Jennifer has served as the President of Equity New Zealand since 2007, and her union leadership has been recognised with her election to the international federation’s presidium. Having attended her first FIA meeting in 2008, she has contributed over many years to the FIA Gender Equality and Sexual Harassment Working Group, in particular to the creation of the FIA Guide to Intimacy Professionals and has represented the New Zealand union on the FIA Executive since 2021.

"It is a great honour to serve as one of the Vice-Presidents of FIA and to help lead this collective effort to improve working conditions for performers. Ours is a truly global industry, and performers around the world face many of the same challenges. The solidarity among FIA members — and our ongoing exchange of best practices, experience, and expertise — remains one of the federation’s greatest strengths".

She has been a member of her union since 1983 and for over 40 years and has worked extensively in theatre, film, television, musical and radio as an actor, director and teacher. She is also an accredited Intimacy Coordinator for stage and screen.

Jennifer was a founding board member of the Watershed Theatre and a co-founder of the drama school, The Actors’ Program. She is Patron of Q Theatre, Howick Little Theatre and Theatre New Zealand and serves as a trust board member of the Actors Benevolent Fund and a commissioner for Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori - The Māori Language Commission.

In the 2007 New Year’s Honours List, she was named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to theatre and the community. In 2018 she was named SPADA Industry Champion and in 2019 New Year’s Honours List, she was named a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to theatre, film and television and presented with a Woman of Influence Award (for arts and culture) In 2020, Jennifer was honoured as the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year.

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