Production Coordinator Liz Davalos shares how she views every animation project as a puzzle to be solved, her belief that production management is an art form, and her personal background that led her to become a DreamWorks Shop Steward.
Name: Liz Davalos
Job Title: Production Coordinator
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
Contact Info: stewards-dreamworks@tag839.org
Tell us a little about yourself and your career.
Animation has always been an integral part of my life. For years, animation was my babysitter on Sunday mornings and the educator on how to envision different worlds outside my own. Growing up in the Northeast as a child of parents from two completely different backgrounds, Animation made me feel seen. When college arrived, I was determined to study 2D animation to help bring back the dwindling art form and help push storytelling that represented folks of all backgrounds.
Although my time at School of Visual Arts brought more love and admiration for the craft, I felt I could not find my niche until I learned about production management. I loved the feeling of organizing people of different talents and driving them toward a goal while still being near the art. When I graduated SVA in 2019, I quickly pivoted my career path to pursue production instead of art. I gained my start in commercial animation as a freelance PA and grew over the next seven years into feature animation. I’ve been a Production Coordinator for four years now, working at WDAS and currently at DWA. Although I am still creative in my free time, I’m so glad that I pivoted to production management as a career path. I consider it a craft and an art form. It’s part of the drive that keeps me in the industry, on top of wanting to see more diverse storytelling!
Walt Disney Animation Studios solidarity break.
What do you love most about working in animation?
I love the people and the craft! Animation is one of the rare careers where you find folks from all different walks of life in the same place. Those different backgrounds inform each craft the person is a part of. Everyone is so kind and values collaboration. I also enjoy the ever-evolving art form and the puzzle each production brings. Each project is so unique, and I love the process of each show finding its unique look or voice. (Minus the compression of it all.)
Liz Davalos giving a speech during a Solidarity Break at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Why did you volunteer to serve as a Shop Steward?
Maybe I was always destined for the siren call. I grew up listening to the talk of generations of Irish American family members in unions such as Steamfitters, IATSE, and ILA. I was always taught that unions brought the “weekends,” but most of all, provided the added protections and benefits my family could not have without it. Simultaneously, I saw my immigrant Latine father struggle to protect his rights as a landscaper without a union. Countless times I watched my mom advocate for him and remind his employers of worker rights because she had grown up in a union family. I grew up knowing the benefits unions provided but how easily workers can be taken advantage of without them.
Before joining DWA, I was part of the Organizing Committee at Walt Disney Animation Studios for production. The OC provided my full union education as prod endured a long process of refusal of union recognition by the company, which ultimately led to an NLRB hearing. Despite the low morale the unit experienced as the days dragged on, I watched as TAG and prod members of the studio came together in solidarity to encourage WDAS to recognize production members. Our WDAS Stewards at the time played a huge role in helping build solidarity and lead actions when prod did not have protections. I understood fully then the huge part Stewards played as an extension of the Union in mobilizing and in educating, organizing, and empowering co-workers to ensure everyone has the best working conditions.
I serve as a Shop Steward because of my care for community and commitment to building a better future. I want folks to feel empowered to know that WE are the Union. Especially production as it is a newly joined craft within TAG.
Liz Davalos (right) and other TAG members marching in solidarity during the WGA-SAG strikes.
As a Shop Steward, what are your priorities in helping TAG Members at your studio?
My priorities for TAG members at DWA are connection, engagement, and education. DWA already fosters a great community. It’s important to continue to build connections to know what each member is experiencing. I want members to feel confident in understanding the CBA or knowing who to turn to when they have contract questions. Most of all, I want members to feel empowered to know that THEY are the Union. WE make up the union and have the power to create change!
As the world and industry change rapidly around us, it serves as a reminder of how little control we feel we can have at times. It may be an employer’s market currently, but as history demonstrates, workers hold so much more power than the companies want us to realize. An informed, supported, and strongly organized labor workforce can create the change we want to see around us. Whether that begins by ensuring an uninterrupted lunch break, labor organizing, or lobbying for a tax credit that encourages jobs to stay in California, in small ways, every TAG member can contribute to influencing the world around them. My priority as a Shop Steward is encouraging each member to know that they are the change!