Diane Strand is a serial entrepreneur, executive producer, best-selling author, TEDx speaker, and nonprofit founder whose work has reshaped the creative landscape in Riverside County and beyond. As the majority owner of JDS Studio, she has dedicated her career to advancing the arts, fostering inclusivity, and equipping aspiring creatives and businesses with the tools to turn passion into purpose and profits.
At the heart of Strand’s work is JDS Studio, founded with her partner in life and business, Scott Strand. It houses several entities:
- JDS Video & Media Productions, Inc. – an award-winning full-service video production and multimedia solutions company.
- JDS Actors Studio – a professional actors studio credited with launching over 100 mainstream acting careers.
- JDS Creative Academy – the 2021 TVCC Emerald Nonprofit of the Year, dedicated to education, workforce development, and hands-on training in the visual, performing, and digital arts. Provides programs, classes, workshops, summer camps, festivals, live theater productions, and community events.
- Arts Across America – an entrepreneurial coaching program that integrates creativity into business and marketing strategies to help organizations grow.
Strand fosters an inclusive safe space for youth, teens, and adults mainstream through special needs so that artists of all backgrounds and abilities can thrive.
Her unwavering commitment to inclusivity took on new meaning in 2017 when the Inland Regional Center (IRC) approached her to mentor a neurodiverse individual interested in audio production. What began as a single internship evolved into a Title 17 program that provides workforce training in video production and digital media for adults with developmental disabilities. Since then, the program has flourished, with numerous participants securing paid internships, higher education opportunities, and employment.
A key training platform within JDS Creative Academy is Spirit of Innovation: Arts Across America, a mainstream magazine-style news and information television series – the first of its kind for Riverside County. As the show’s creator, executive producer, and co-host, Strand leads a program that covers essential “good-to-know” and “need-to-know” community impact topics, highlighting local events, businesses, innovation, and artists in the region. Program participants assist with behind-the-scenes production, with several featured as on-camera talent. The program broadcasts locally throughout Riverside County and streams nationally on Binge Network, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Tubi, as well as the nonprofit’s social media platforms and websites, exemplifying the organization’s mission to spread the arts across America.
Strand also champions emerging creatives through DigiFest® Temecula, an annual three-day digital multimedia festival she founded in 2017. The festival provides students, emerging creators, and professionals a platform to showcase their work, earn industry recognition, and network with industry experts. Through workshops, panels, and competitions, DigiFest® helps bridge the gap between aspiring creatives and industry opportunities.
Strand is deeply involved in the community as an active Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce member, where she served as the 2024 DEI Chair, and has been on the Women in Business committee for 15 years. She recently completed a three-year term as the elected Board President of Southwest Economic Development Coalition and a ten-year service as an appointed Board Member for Riverside County’s Workforce Development.
Expanding her impact, Strand and her husband launched Arts Across America in 2024, a program that helps businesses integrate more Creativity into their operations, fostering innovation across industries. The initiative aligns with her broader vision of making the arts accessible nationwide.
At the core of Strand’s philosophy is H.O.P.E. — Help One Person Every Day. Whether mentoring a budding creative, guiding a business owner toward a creative breakthrough, or providing opportunities for neurodiverse individuals, she believes in the transformative power of the arts to inspire, uplift, and empower.Diane Strand continues to push creative boundaries. Her dedication to storytelling, education, and workforce development has made a lasting impact, proving that with vision, passion, purpose and determination, dreams can become reality.