The first Black woman to lead a Canadian national union has been re-elected for a second term.

Jan Simpson, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), will remain for another four-year term. She is joined by Rona Eckert, who was elected national vice president. See others who were elected here.

Simpson rose through the ranks as a postal worker in Toronto and spearheaded labour improvements in the CUPW throughout her tenure. She joined its executive committee in 2015 and was elected president in 2019.

She is credited with leading the union through the COVID-19 pandemic, and she has been advocating for better working conditions, wages, and work-life balance.

The Simpson-led union has called for the creation of a public postal bank, which would support under-resourced postal works. CUPW has also called for the acceleration of carbon-reducing measures to mitigate the company’s environmental impact.

Marie Nelson named Hot Docs president

The Hot Docs board of directors has announced Marie Nelson as the organization’s president. She will assume the role on June 1.

“Marie is a dynamic leader with a proven track record of supporting filmmakers, growing and diversifying audiences, and lifting powerful and yet often unheard voices into the national discussion, which makes her ideally suited to lead Hot Docs into its next chapter,” Lalita Krishna, co-chair of Hot Docs board of directors, said in a statement.

Nelson has served as senior vice president at ABC News/Disney, where she led a brand and content strategy that pioneered and developed inclusive and diverse-led content for television, streaming, and film audiences.

She is behind the award-winning “Soul of a Nation” series, which doubled ABC’s primetime slate audiences and captured 11 Emmy nominations. She also partnered with teams across The Walt Disney Company and Nikole Hannah Jones, Oprah Winfrey, Harpo, The New York Times, and Lionsgate to secure and develop the Pulitzer Prize-winning “The 1619 Project” docuseries for Hulu Originals.

"For me, having the chance to link arms with Hot Docs was an unequivocal swipe right. From my first trip to Toronto for the festival and its legendary pitch forum, it was love at first sight," said Marie Nelson. "Hot Docs has earned its reputation as a beacon for the global documentary filmmaking community and their audiences by fostering a sense of home and supporting the best in the genre year-round. I am so energized to begin working with my colleagues at Hot Docs to continue innovating and building an even more inclusive and dynamic future for our storytellers.”

See the full release here.