Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect that some members were not removed from the board but instead stepped down from their positions.
The Emerson College Board of Trustees added four new members and re-installed one former trustee leading into the new school year, according to an Emerson Today article. The shift reduces last year’s 27-person board to 24 and replaces eight members.
The Board of Trustees approves the direction of on-campus policy and controls the investment portfolio of Emerson College.
The changes to this year’s board come after 118 protesters were arrested at the “Popular University Encampment” in April and the student government unanimously voted no confidence in President Jay Bernhardt shortly thereafter, with the board releasing a letter of support for his presidency the same day.
The board adds screenwriter, producer, and author Seth-Grahame Smith as well as screenwriter and director Adele Lim. The board will also add Joseph J. Johnson III, a managing director and head of liabilities at Lafayette Square Holding Company, LLC to this year’s board, alongside Paul J. Morra, founder of Swift River Productions.
Returning to the board is Max Mutchnick, who last served on the board six years ago from 2005-2018.
Who are the new trustees?
Seth Grahame-Smith
Seth-Grahame Smith is a Los Angeles-based author, producer, and screenwriter with an extensive catalog of films, including “The Lego Batman Movie” (2017), and Stephen King’s “It” (2017), the highest grossing horror movie of all time. He has also written best-selling novels such as “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” Smith was one of three screenwriters on the now-playing “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” (2024) and is currently working on a new “Star Trek” film.
Adele Lim
Adele Lim is a Los Angeles-based producer, screenwriter, and director. Lim co-wrote the screenplay for the blockbuster hit “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018) and the Oscar-nominated animated film “Raya and the Last Dragon” (2021). In her directorial debut with a mostly Asian female cast, “Joy Ride” (2023), Lim was nominated for several awards, including an NAACP Image Award.
Joseph J. Johnson III
Joseph J. Johnson III has an extensive background in finance and investment banking, having worked at Goldman Sachs for 23 years. He is the chair on the board of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, and has positions on the board for Columbia Children’s Hospital and the Classical Theater of Harlem.
Max Mutchnick
Max Mutchnick is an Emmy-award winning executive producer and creator of transformational sitcom “Will & Grace.” Mutchnick co-founded a production company called KoMut Entertainment with his high school best friend, David Kohan. They began screenwriting together, with shows such as “The Wonder Years” and “Boston Common.” Currently, they are wrapping up a new sitcom called “Mid-Century Modern.”
Paul J. Morra
Paul J. Morra is vice chairman of the Alumni Board of Directors at Emerson. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he had a hand in creating hit television shows such as “The Henry Rollins Show.” Morra has also worked on the sets of “Titanic” (1997) and “The Peacemaker” (1997).
The board will see the replacement of eight former trustees. Among them is Jeffrey Greenhawt, who passed away on Aug. 6 at 78 years old in South Florida. Greenhawt was a longtime Emerson trustee and chair of the Board for 12 years.
Seven members no longer represent the board. Robert Friend, Albert Jaffe, G. Michael Mara Jr., Andrea Motoni, and Raj Sharma have stepped down from their positions. Vincent Di Bona and Marillyn Zacharis moved from trustees to trustees emeriti.