Episode Details

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Diane Strand

An award‑winning serial entrepreneur, media producer, speaker, and coach. She is the co‑founder of JDS Video & Media Productions, a seven‑figure production company, and the creator of DigiFest, a major digital‑media and arts festival in Temecula, California.

Diane shares her journey from a dyslexic child discouraged from pursuing the arts, to a Hollywood professional working on television hits like Friends, General Hospital, and Veronica’s Closet, to a successful entrepreneur empowering creative to turn their passions into profitable businesses. She discusses resilience, visibility, storytelling, leadership, the power of the arts, and how she built DigiFest into a hub for digital creators, students, and industry professionals.

🎯 Purpose of the Interview

The interview highlights:

1. Diane’s evolution from Hollywood talent to business owner

Her shift from TV and production work to launching her own media company and coaching others.

2. The mission behind DigiFest

Why she created an annual digital media festival to bridge Hollywood and emerging creators.

3. How the arts empower people personally and professionally

Diane explains how creativity builds communication skills, confidence, resilience, and community.

4. Her framework for turning passion into profit

Through storytelling, visibility strategies, networking, and stepping outside comfort zones.

5. Advice for future generations of creatives and entrepreneurs

Her approach to learning, mentorship, and launching ideas before feeling “ready.”

💡 Key Takeaways

1. Creativity + Storytelling = Universal Power

Diane defines the arts broadly: anything involving storytelling—painting, acting, photography, filmmaking, writing, animation, design, music, digital content.
She emphasizes that the arts are inclusive, accessible to all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. 

The arts train:

• Communication
• Confidence
• Problem‑solving
• Thick skin
• Resilience
• Adaptability

These skills transfer directly to business and leadership.

2. Overcoming Dyslexia and Early Discouragement

As a child, she struggled with reading and undiagnosed dyslexia.
People—including her parents—told her she shouldn’t pursue the arts. She refused to listen.
Her determination led to winning the role of Betsy Ross in her second‑grade play, igniting her lifelong creative path. 

3. A Successful Run in Hollywood

When Showtime rejected her, she went back to school to get her bachelor’s degree, then returned and worked on major productions such as:

• Friends
• General Hospital
• Veronica’s Closet

Hollywood taught her professionalism, creativity, and authenticity—but also that the industry can be cutthroat and subjective. 

4. Passion → Purpose → Profits

Diane explains that passion alone isn’t enough.
The real breakthrough comes when passion turns into a purpose, which then creates profits. [

She discovered this when she left Hollywood within 15 seconds of agreeing to start her own production business after realizing reality TV’s lifestyle conflicted with