TV Santa Barbara (TVSB), the region’s community media access center since 1975, welcomes James Joyce III, Justin Gunn and David Hefferman to its Board of Directors.
TVSB has also announced the continuation of the Executive Council with Meighann Helene, board chair; Tracy Beard, treasurer; and Michael Mongold, secretary.
The new board members along with the Executive Council join Dean Noble, Regina Ruiz, Laura Treat, Gary Dobbins, Rebecca Brand, and Courtney Frazier as stewards of the community-minded nonprofit organization.
“David, James and Justin are great additions to an already outstanding diverse and talented board,” said Helene. “Each member brings something unique to our organization, and we are very excited to welcome these new members to our growing team.
“As we approach our 50th anniversary, we are continually looking for ways to better serve our community, and I know the contributions of our new members will be sure to support these efforts.”
Joyce is the founder and chief visionary officer of Coffee With A Black Guy, an innovative social impact movement in which he facilitates conversations about race and perspective for community groups and organizations.
Joyce is a former award-winning journalist and runner up in the 2021 Santa Barbara mayoral election, who leverages more than two decades of public service and journalism experience to provide insight for groups and individuals seeking to gain better cross-cultural understanding.
For much of the past decade, Joyce served as district director for California State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, who represented nearly 1 million constituents within Santa Barbara and Ventura counties until terming out in December 2020.
Prior to working in the public service sector, Joyce, a Maryland-native, served as a newspaper journalist in several diverse communities across the country covering a variety of subjects; from education to crime, local politics, and features.
Gunn got his start in television production at age 14 at his local public access station, BHTV, in Beverly Hills, California. That experience helped launch what became a 30-plus year career in television news and documentary production as a reporter, anchor and producer at MTV, Channel One, Inside Edition, American Journal, CNET, Food Network and FOX.
He later served as a founding executive and producer at the Emmy Award-winning “Current TV,” where he led the Viewer Created Content division and Online Programming, both initiatives centered on empowering audience members to participate in the creation of the network’s content.
Hefferman is a senior broadcast and digital account executive at KEYT. He is also former radio morning show host, news and public affairs director, marketing director, and television weatherman.
“I am honored and excited to be a member of the TVSB board,” he said. “TVSB is a vital information and cultural link to the community.”
Helene has served on the board since 2015, previously as treasurer. An internationally recognized video producer and current artist in residence at the Santa Barbara Center for Art, Science and Technology, Helene is a cognitive scientist serving as a business technology leader on the IBM Client Engineering team.
She has a track record of supporting STEAM in the community, also currently serving as Fishbon’s Board treasurer.
“We are excited to see the continued growth of the TV Santa Barbara board as we progress through an exciting time in community television,” said Erik Davis, executive director of TV Santa Barbara.
“Adding three new members with a deep background in the local community and in media will help us lift up local voices and air programming that is most relevant to the lives of our families, friends and neighbors,” he said.
TV Santa Barbara (TVSB) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, which operates two community access television channels, 17 and 71. TVSB’s mission is to empower people to make media that matters. TVSB does this by providing residents with the knowledge, resources, and tools to create their own original programming.
With studios at 329 S. Salinas St., TVSB provides members with access to video production equipment and electronic media resources to facilitate public dialogue, free speech, and participatory democracy; to foster local creativity, education and culture; and to reflect a diverse community.
For more, visit www.tvsb.tv.