(from L-R) Justin Gunn, James Joyce III, David Hefferman, Meighann Helene. | Credit: Courtesy

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SANTA BARBARA, CA – October 4, 2022 – TV Santa Barbara (TVSB), the region’s community media access center since 1975, welcomes James Joyce III, Justin Gunn and David Hefferman to their Board of Directors.

In addition, TVSB announces the continuation of the Executive Council with Meighann Helene as Board Chair, Tracy Beard as Treasurer and Michael Mongold as Secretary. These three new board members along with the Executive Council join Dean Noble, Regina Ruiz, Ph.D., 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 Meighann Helene, Board Chair of TV Santa Barbara. “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.”

James Joyce III 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 impactful 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 Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, who represented nearly 1 million constituents within Santa Barbara and Ventura counties until terming out in Dec. 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, features and more.

Justin 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+ 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.  

David Hefferman is a senior broadcast and digital account executive at KEYT. Mr. Hefferman 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,” said David. “TVSB is a vital information and cultural link to the community”. 

Meighann Helene has served on the Board since 2015, previously holding the role of 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 long track record 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.”

About TV Santa Barbara

TV Santa Barbara (TVSB) is a 501(c) 3 non-profit 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. TV Santa Barbara has served as the local media access center since 1975.

With studios at 329 S. Salinas Street, 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 our diverse and amazing community.

www.tvsb.tv

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