Here at Davis Media Access (DMA), we’ve just said goodbye to a true helper, someone who has fundamentally shaped the course of this organization and by extension, this community, for the past 25 years.

Jeff Shaw departed this month for a new job managing government access television for the City of Piedmont and netted a really short commute from his home in Berkeley. While they say no one is irreplaceable and I believe that to be true, Jeff is much beloved and it’s a tough goodbye. 

As production manager for DMA, Jeff was instrumental in helping to build partnerships here in Davis and throughout Yolo County. Thanks in large part to his efforts, our alliances with the Davis Joint Unified School District, City of Davis, Woodland Community College, and dozens of community-based groups throughout Yolo County have blossomed and grown. He's guided dozens of high school and college students through internships.

Most notably, Jeff is the main reason KDRT came into being. In 2000, he approached the leadership of what was then called Davis Community Television to say there was an opportunity to start a low-power FM ( a special class of non-commercial educational radio) station for Davis, and would they consider it. Fast forward four years and a ton of work, and KDRT launched Sept. 24, 2004. In the intervening years, Jeff advised and assisted dozens of others to secure licenses and launch stations.