Meet the Coaches: The Mentors Behind JDS Creative Academy

What if the person teaching your next class had already done the work you’re dreaming about doing?

They’ve been on the stage. Behind the camera. In the writers’ room. On professional sets. They’ve created productions, designed worlds, told stories, made mistakes, solved problems, and built careers through creativity.

Now, they’re bringing that experience into the classroom.

That is something JDS Creative Academy is incredibly proud of. Students aren’t simply learning techniques. They have the opportunity to learn from working creative professionals who understand what it takes to turn an idea into something real.

Take Katie McColm, Artistic Director at JDS Studio. Katie’s creative journey crosses fine art, performance, design, production, and even fire spinning. Her work has been showcased throughout Los Angeles and Orange County, and her experience in color theory, visual design, and interior design gives her an incredible eye for how all the pieces of a production come together. At JDS, students have seen that creativity in action through projects including the studio design for DigiFest® and the sets, props, and costumes for The Wizard of Oz. Katie shows students that being creative doesn’t have to mean choosing one path. Sometimes your greatest strength comes from bringing several different talents together.

Then there is Johanna Lack, Head Writer at JDS Studio, who has been teaching scriptwriting at JDS Creative Academy since its founding. Johanna knows storytelling inside and out. She is an award-winning television producer and writer with credits that include HGTV’s House Hunters and Designed to Sell, along with productions for CBS, ABC, DIY, A&E, and Discovery Channel. She also serves as Head Writer for JDS Creative Academy’s Spirit of Innovation: Arts Across America. Imagine learning how to build a story from someone who has spent years reading scripts, writing for television, producing content, and learning firsthand what makes an idea stand out.

Pryde Pierce brings another side of the creative industry into the classroom through filmmaking, acting, and cinematography. An award-winning independent filmmaker, actor, videographer, and content creator, Pryde has spent more than 15 years working across film, digital media, performance, and production. His work has included Shakespeare productions, collaborations with major companies, projects on streaming platforms, and award-winning work in writing, directing, cinematography, acting, and editing. He holds a degree in Digital Cinematography and has taught filmmaking through nonprofit programs, helping students build both technical skills and a stronger understanding of how the film industry works. As Filmmaking Instructor at JDS Studios, Pryde gives students a hands-on look at what it takes to move a story from idea to screen.

And of course, Scott Strand, Master Acting Coach and Co-Founder of JDS Creative Academy, brings decades of experience as an actor, director, producer, and educator. As Director of the JDS Creative Academy Musical Theater Program, Scott helps performers understand that acting is about much more than memorizing lines. It’s listening, reacting, making choices, understanding the story, working as an ensemble, and having the confidence to step forward and be seen.

That is what great mentorship can do.

A coach can teach a skill, but a mentor can also recognize something in a student that they may not recognize in themselves yet.

Whether someone discovers a passion for acting, filmmaking, writing, design, musical theater, production, or another part of the creative industry, the right mentor can help turn curiosity into confidence.

Creative education should not only teach students how to make something.

It should help them discover what they’re capable of making next.

Ready to find your creative path? Explore current JDS Creative Academy classes and programs at https://jdscreativeacademy.org/classes

Where Creativity Meets Opportunity.