My time at Davis Media Access has fostered depth in my work as a media maker, community leader, and nonprofit executive director, a role I’ve held here since 2007. I strive to work collaboratively with board, staff and volunteers to create a vibrant community nonprofit that serves our region in many ways.
My first career was as a newspaper reporter and editor, and that background, coupled with curiosity and an orientation towards service, led me to begin the development of Yolo Local. I’m committed to finding ways to improve civic information in Yolo County, and pivoting the work of DMA to meet the need and the moment.
Here are a few of my key projects over the years:
- Principal in the development of community radio station KDRT
- Host and producer of the “COVID-19 Community Report” during the pandemic
- Executive producer for DMA’s nonpartisan election coverage
- Past Chair, Arts Alliance Davis
- Past Commissioner, City of Davis’s Broadband Advisory Task Force
- Past Board Officer, Alliance for Community Media Western Region
- Strategic consultant/mentor for other nonprofits
- Columnist, The Davis Enterprise, media & telecommunications
- Member, News Futures Community Media Working Group
Although I lead this organization, it’s far from a solo effort, and I give much credit to my staff, board, and our community of volunteers. Working together, DMA has been awarded the following:
• 2023 Democracy Works award, League of Women Voters Woodland
• 2022 Yolo County Nonprofit of the Year, Sen, Bill Dodd (D-Napa)
• 2021,Overall Excellence for Small Radio Stations, Alliance for Community Media
• 2019, Business Partnership of the Year with Sudwerk Brewing Company,
Sacramento Regional Foundation, Big Day of Giving
I was recognized as a Yolo County Woman of the Year by former Congressman John Garamendi (D-3) for my work to connect the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of that work included successfully leading an advocacy effort that resulted in $600,000 funding for the nonprofit arts and culture sector in Davis.
I’m married, proud mom to to three grown children and one spoiled dog, and when time permits, I attend as much live music as I can, read, and make a variety of mixed media art.
Darrick Servis, Director of Operations, a position he has held at DMA since 1998. As a long-time advocate of community media and open source software, Darrick has been a frequent contributor to the Rivendell Automation System, Drupal and CiviCRM software projects. He has extensive experience with systems administration, website development, analytics and project management. Darrick is responsible for equipment purchasing and installation, budgeting, policy development and facility maintenance. He is staff liaison for the DMA board of directors.
Jeff Shaw, Production Manager, a position he has held since 1998, and Station Director for KDRT-LP 95.7fm, a license he applied for in 2000 and helped launch in 2004. He recruits, manages and trains volunteers, interns and staff who produce programming for DCTV, DJUSD Channel 17 and KDRT. He serves as a media production liaison to our community partners: Davis Joint Unified School District, City of Davis, and other nonprofit organizations. He has also overseen DMA’s training programs, and prior to DMA he worked as a media production specialist at UC Davis. Jeff also co-founded Common Frequency, a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging public participation in broadcasting and helping others navigate the FCC. He got his start in community media volunteering at KVMR in Nevada City.
Studio Manager - Diane Dedoshka: She comes to this role with 15 years of experience in commercial broadcasting at KXTV Sacramento/Stockton, where she was responsible for producing live coverage of major events, creating pilots and documentaries, directing nightly newscasts, and managing large crews. In her current capacity at DMA, she produces, directs, and trains staff and volunteer crew members for HDTV studio productions. She produces large scale content for voter education and public service organizations. Diane is responsible for assisting community volunteers in the development of the technical skills necessary to create content for on-demand viewing. She also mentors’ producers to use best practices for their video productions. She is currently part of a technical team creating a new TV studio for community college students and staff to produce educational content for distance learning via the internet. And she is trained in TV studio remote software to produce on-line studio quality programming using remote production staff.
Community Outreach Coordinator - Diane Crumley: Prior to joining the DMA staff in 2019, she served in several key volunteer roles including the KDRT radio Steering/Operations Committee, the DMA Fundraising Committee, and 10 years assisting with the outreach and logistics of the monthly Davis community concert series – “Thursday Live!” – resulting in the development of numerous partnerships with local organizations, festivals, and musicians. In 2020, she served as coordinator of Make Music Davis – part of the worldwide Make Music Day celebration of community-led music making held each year on June 21, summer solstice.
Diane has over 10 years of experience with a wide variety of Yolo County nonprofit organizations assisting with the digital conversion of outreach, educational, workshop and training materials, website updates and maintenance, and the development of social media and communication campaigns geared toward volunteers, professional staff, and the general public. She also has over 10 years of experience coordinating community-based survey and interview projects with diverse populations and partners including university researchers, students, grassroots community groups, neighborhood associations, city and county entities, public schools, service organizations, and nonprofits. She has served as project coordinator and grants administrator for numerous federal, state, and private foundation grant-funded projects and is experienced in grant writing, shared data management, and project reporting.
Operations Assistant- Jim Buchanan: Since 2007, Jim has assisted with the weekly updating of KDRT community radio’s 24/7 automated schedule logs including importing additional syndicated programming, special show episodes, and public service announcements. Jim also installs, maintains, and troubleshoots all radio studio equipment, trains new programmers, and serves as sound engineer on remote live broadcasts at events in the community. In his role as volunteer KDRT programmer, he has hosted his weekly show “Live Tracks” since the station launched in 2004, and often broadcasts his live recordings of local musicians that he has compiled over the past 15 years, creating a unique archive of the Davis music scene to share with the community.