Congratulations to Paris Barclay who has been elected president of the Directors Guild of America

Paris Barclay, one of the busiest and most respected directors and producers in television today, has just been elected president of the Directors Guild Association of America.

I’m not sure if he is the first gay president of the guild but I do believe he is the first openly gay one from what I can see in the records – someone correct me if I am wrong. The two-time Emmy winner had already been the first African-American board member in guild history.

He said in a statement after the vote: “I am profoundly honored to be elected President of the DGA. The DGA has worked for more than three-quarters of a century to advance the creative and economic rights of directors and their teams and I look forward to continuing this strong tradition of service. As the son of a glass blower and a tile maker from Chicago, I am extremely humbled to have the honor to serve in the footsteps of the legendary leaders of the DGA like Frank Capra, Robert Wise and Gil Cates.”

Barclay is currently executive producer and principal director of the FX drama Sons of Anarchy. He has also directed The Mentalist, Weeds, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Good Wife, In Treatment, Glee, and Smash in recent years.