AGMA is happy to share two updates regarding its Professional Staff. The Union has hired Ivy Yan as Counsel and has promoted Business Rep Anna Peabody to Senior Negotiator.
Ivy Yan Joins AGMA Staff as Counsel
Experienced labor lawyer Ivy Yan (she/her) joined the team as Counsel on April 8.
Ivy comes to AGMA from McCracken, Stemerman & Holsberry LLP, where her practice focused on union organizing, comprehensive campaigns, arbitration, and litigation to vindicate employees' rights at work.
"We are thrilled to welcome Ivy to AGMA’s Professional Staff,” said Interim National Executive Director Allison Beck. “With her extensive background in labor and employment law, Ivy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to AGMA. Ivy’s years of fighting for workers' rights during her time at Harvard Law, and then as a union-side labor and employment lawyer at the prestigious McCracken firm make her extremely well-qualified to further strengthen AGMA’s efforts to support and protect the rights of AGMA Artists.”
While a student at Harvard Law School, Ivy served as a student attorney at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau handling eviction defense, wage and hour, and unemployment insurance matters. She was also a proud member and committee leader with the Harvard Graduate Student Union, UAW Local 5118; co-founder of the Labor and Employment Action Project; and research assistant for the Harvard Labor and Worklife Program.
Ivy was primarily raised in Carmel, Indiana, where she grew up playing piano, violin, and viola. She is currently located in the San Francisco Bay area. Along with newly-promoted Senior Negotiator Anna Peabody, Ivy will be largely representing AGMA’s distinguished West Coast Artists.
AGMA Promotes Anna Peabody to Senior Negotiator
Dedicated AGMA staff member Anna Peabody (she/her) has been promoted to Senior Negotiator.
“I am thrilled to embrace the next chapter of my journey with AGMA. Having served as a Business Representative for the past few years, it has been an honor to advocate for our remarkable members,” said Anna Peabody. “As I step into the role of Senior Negotiator, I eagerly anticipate continuing this mission. Growing up in the arts, I admired AGMA Artists and their impact on our industries. Their voices resonated with me, and now, it is truly a dream to be able to help amplify those same voices further.”
Anna joined AGMA’s Professional Staff in February 2022 as a Business Representative. In this role, she infused member engagement, participation, and education into all facets of AGMA activities. As a prominent member of AGMA's Professional Staff, she warmly welcomed new members and collaborated closely with AGMA negotiators on contract bargaining and enforcement, as well as addressing member issues and grievances. A recent notable achievement by Anna was successfully negotiating the latest contract with Seattle Opera, earning praise from AGMA leadership, members, and staff. Additionally, she contributed to major organizing campaigns alongside National Organizing Director Griff Braun.
“Anna quickly became a key member of AGMA's team, delivering outstanding representation to AGMA Artists and actively contributing to significant organizing initiatives," remarked Interim Executive Director Allison Beck. "Her pivotal role in negotiating Seattle Opera's new contract underscores the merit of this title change. Prioritizing professional development and fostering our staff is paramount, and I eagerly anticipate a wealth of future achievements on behalf of AGMA Artists.”
Originally from Pasadena, Maryland, she connected with the Arts early on, starting dance classes at age three. She spent her high school years at the Baltimore School for the Arts in Maryland and her summers studying at the Boston Ballet and Chautauqua Institution. Following high school, she began studying ballet at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Ballet with an Outside Field in Elementary Education.
Prior to graduating, she began working with BalletX in Philadelphia, PA, where she performed nationally including at The Joyce Theater in New York and the Vail International Dance Festival in Colorado. In the Fall of 2019, she began working with the Nevada Ballet Theater (NBT) in Las Vegas, where she was part of the organizing effort and discovered her passion for advocating for artists while working with AGMA as a Delegate. She retired from performing professionally in 2021.