This week on the Major Pain podcast we speak with Diane Strand, founder of the nonprofit JDS Creative Academy, which offers training and job placement in the entertainment industry to people with disabilities. JDS caters to individuals with a passion for creativity who hope to turn this passion into a career. Diane has created a unique job placement program, finding internships for her students while providing a salary and job coach for the first year of employment, in the hopes that these employers will retain JDS students indefinitely. The JDS Creative Academy also works to foster inclusivity, and train employers about the adaptive needs of their students.

In this podcast interview Diane will tell us about her organization and her vision to bring programs like the JDS Creative Academy to communities everywhere. She tells us about the film, TV, radio and stage productions her students are involved in. She also reflects on the importance of the arts, and the impact of arts education on the students her program has served.

Diane Strand is an award-winning Executive Producer at JDS Studios and the TV show Spirit of Innovation, the first Riverside County local news and information program. She is the majority owner of JDS Video & Media Productions, Inc / JDS Actors Studio and the founder of nonprofit JDS Creative Academy, she is also a published author who talks about entrepreneurship, and providing pathways for career opportunities in the visual, performing and digital arts.

Learn more about the JDS Creative Academy: https://jdscreativeacademy.org/