Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/716514
34 SAG-AFTRA | Summer 2016 | SAGAFTRA.org W hile Kerry Washington may be best known for her starring role as Olivia Pope on the hit ABC drama Scandal, she differs from her on-screen counterpart in one key way: her dedication to giving back. The SAG Award, Emmy and Golden Globe- nominated actor was recently awarded the SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Actors Inspiration Award in honor of her commitment to service at the Foundation's 7th Annual Los Angeles Golf Classic on June 13. Washington, a longtime advocate for civil rights, was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009 to the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. As an extension of her work with the committee, she also volunteers her time with Turnaround Arts, a public-private partnership that brings arts education resources into schools. Through this program, Washington frequently volunteers her time to help students at Warren Lane Elementary School in Inglewood, California. Recently, Washington sat down with SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris for an Actor to Actor interview to discuss the role the union has played in her life, diversity in the industry and the meaning of the Foundation's Actors Inspiration Award. MATT WINKELMEYER/GETTY IMAGES Foundation's Actors Inspiration Award Recipient Kerry Washington Speaks with SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris Actor to Actor Actors Inspiration Award recipient Kerry Washington and SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation's 7th Annual L.A. Golf Classic on June 13 Gabrielle Carteris: When was the first time you worked on a SAG job, before we were merged? Kerry Washington: It was actually, I think, seventh and eighth grade, I did an ABC Afterschool Special. GC: I did those! KW: Which is so funny because now I'm on ABC, obviously. I've always been really grateful to the union and grateful to the [SAG-AFTRA] Foundation for everything that we do to help actors take care of themselves and their careers. GC: I want to talk about the fact that you're the first African-American woman since 1974 who has been a lead on a network drama. What does that mean to you? KW: I'm so excited that now in our television landscape there are so many more characters of color and there are so many more opportunities for women and people of color in television than ever before. And I'm really excited