“I began to feel very strongly that we had to find some unifying force, some way to bring the East closer to the West and the divergent membership in the East closer together.” Ed Sherin has devoted great effort to fostering a sense of teamwork among DGA members on both coasts. He was awarded the Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award in 2002 for service to the Guild, including his support for the work in trade amendment. This landmark amendment requires Guild officers to have worked at least 30 days under a DGA contract within the past seven years. It is credited for making the East Coast officers a more vital part of the Guild’s leadership. “There were members on the Eastern Directors Council who hadn’t worked in Guild categories in 25 years. I felt these members did not have sufficient contact with current Guild problems. What was clear was the need to make the East Coast portion of the Guild a stronger part of the overall DGA.” Sherin has balanced his commitment to the DGA with a busy career in television. He is an executive producer of Law & Order and has directed more than a dozen episodes of the show, as well as episodes Medium, Homicide: Life on the Street, and L.A. Law.