Kim Roberts Hedgpeth: national executive director, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

Ebony, August, 2005

Kim Roberts Hedgpeth is the national executive director of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the first African-American to serve as chief executive of a major entertainment union. Hedgpeth will head the union that represents nearly 80,000 professional performers, broadcasters and recording artists.

Since joining AFTRA in 1981, Hedgpeth has held a variety of executive positions at the local and national levels, and most recently served as associate national executive director. "It is an AFTRA trademark that we hire the best in our executive staff," says AFTRA national president, John P. Connolly. "She confirms our confidence in ourselves, our vision, and our union." Hedgpeth, who formerly served as director of labor and employee relations for Harvard University, received a bachelor of arts from Harvard University and a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. She and her husband, Gilbert W. Hedgpeth, live in Guttenberg and Willingboro, N.J.