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VBJ July 2021

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THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL<br />

18 www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />

JDS Creative Academy Makes Big Splash Winning Nine <strong>2021</strong><br />

International Communicator Awards<br />

When you think about a nonprofit,<br />

you probably think of giving back to the<br />

community, helping others, donations,<br />

etc., but what about a television show<br />

structured to train adults who have autism<br />

and developmental disabilities and<br />

have an interest in video production?<br />

Probably not.<br />

While JDS Creative Academy<br />

(JDSCA) is dedicated to all the above,<br />

it’s all part of the nonprofit’s mission,<br />

to advance education, training and<br />

career pathway opportunities in visual,<br />

performing and digital arts. The story<br />

behind where it all started might surprise<br />

you, and to fully understand what<br />

JDS Creative Academy is all about, we<br />

need to rewind a bit.<br />

Meet Scott and Diane Strand.<br />

They’re a couple with over twenty-five<br />

years of experience in the entertainment<br />

industry, video production and media<br />

marketing, who started their production<br />

company, JDS Video and Media Productions,<br />

Inc., out of North County San<br />

Diego in 2003. They did so after leaving<br />

behind their high-level entertainment<br />

industry careers in Los Angeles. Within<br />

five years, the Strands and JDS had established<br />

themselves and incorporated<br />

in Temecula.<br />

As the business continued to rapidly<br />

grow over the next two years, mostly<br />

by word-of-mouth, Scott and Diane<br />

launched a Drama Club program in<br />

the Temecula Unified School District.<br />

After the overwhelming response, they<br />

decided to create an Actors Studio for<br />

all ages to learn the technique and craft<br />

of acting, which is now known as JDS<br />

Actors Studio.<br />

As they got JDS Actors Studio up<br />

and running, the community began<br />

asking for other arts education opportunities.<br />

This is when the Strands realized<br />

that the area really lacked opportunities<br />

for the arts. In response to this request,<br />

they sought after the idea of helping<br />

students, specifically homeschooled and<br />

independent study students, fulfill their<br />

Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) requirements<br />

per the California Education<br />

Core Standard. By opening their services<br />

to different populations, the Strands were<br />

able to not only allow students to chase<br />

their passions and accomplish education<br />

goals but help them find pathway opportunities<br />

for a career in several different<br />

creative mediums.<br />

In return, this helped put the Strands<br />

a bit more on the map. In 2014, the<br />

Strands and a Board of Directors, consisting<br />

of media and business professionals,<br />

founded the nonprofit 501(c)(3) JDS<br />

Creative Academy (JDSCA).<br />

As if running a nonprofit, a video<br />

production company and an actors studio<br />

wasn’t enough, Diane also sits on the<br />

Board of Directors for Workforce Development<br />

for Riverside County. This year<br />

will be her eighth year. Her involvement<br />

with Workforce led to meeting an individual<br />

who received services from the<br />

county’s Inland Regional Center (IRC).<br />

This person was in a Paid Internship<br />

Program (PIP), and JDSCA was asked<br />

to bring him on as an intern at no cost<br />

or training time of the JDS Staff. This<br />

caused an epiphany. JDSCA could provide<br />

opportunities to more individuals in<br />

the region and offer quality work experience<br />

in a safe, structured environment.<br />

To that end, JDS Creative Academy set<br />

out to write a Title-17 video production<br />

job-training program.<br />

After getting approved, they recruited<br />

a group of talented industry professionals<br />

who could train and mentor,<br />

and the job-training video production<br />

day program began May of 2018. The<br />

organization has come a long way since<br />

its inception in 2014 and continues to<br />

expand. JDSCA is gearing up to have<br />

a PIP program of their own.<br />

Everyone at JDSCA is thrilled<br />

their efforts are being rewarded and<br />

recognized, garnishing nine international<br />

Communicator awards for their<br />

television program Spirit of Innovation,<br />

the training program’s show the SOI<br />

Update, and a radio news program on<br />

102.5 The Vine called the JDSCA News<br />

Update. In 2019, they were also the<br />

recipients of six Telly Awards with one<br />

being in the category of Diversity and<br />

Inclusion! Diane, Scott and the entire<br />

#JDSFamily hold a special mantra and it<br />

truly speaks volumes as to what JDSCA<br />

aims to do: Provide H.O.P.E, Helping<br />

One Person Everyday.

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