Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1532181
37 S P R I N G Q 1 I S S U E F E A T U R E GUILDED DAYS: Editors Guild staff in the early 1990s included (clockwise from left) Lisa Dosch, Meleney Humphrey, Maureen O'Connell, Cathy, Adriana Inglesias-Dietl and Hank Schloss. At right, Cathy in an undated photo. wanted the women to leave there taking something with them," Repola said. In 2015, IA President Matt Loeb ac- knowledged the importance of women within the IATSE and created an official women's committee. "It was the first time the IA had a women's committee, and he appointed me chairperson," she said. "I'm extremely proud of that, because it has made a difference in a bunch of women's lives. There are a number of women who've run for office because of it, who participate, who are feeling more empowered and less held back — and it just keeps growing." Fo r h e r t i re l e s s a d v o c a c y w o r k o n behalf of women, Loeb awarded her the IA President's Award for Outstanding Woman Leader in 2017. There were indeed challenging times during her tenure. The 2018 Basic Agree- ment negotiations sparked a new sense of activism within the Local 700 member- ship. With that came a deeper call from the members for the union to do more and to be more. Repola embraced those challenges and sought new ways to be a leader of change. She was honored with the ACE Her- itage Award in January 2020, drawing a standing ovation from the audience. "[This award] is reserved for an individual of special merit, a person who has had an enormous impact on our craft," ACE president Steve Rivkin said that evening, adding that ACE chose her "in recognition of her courageous leadership and dedication to the editing profession." Soon afterward, though, the COVID pandemic shut everything down, and many of the approximately 9,000 members of the Guild were experiencing the same things most of the world was: isolation at home, illness and fear, loss of loved ones, and most important, a loss of connection to each oth- er. Repola wanted to help the membership