Staff
Executive Director
Digital ecologist Sean Taketa McLaughlin serves as executive director of Access Humboldt, where he advocates for public policies that support universal access to open media.
Sean is known for his tendency to live in proximity with spectacular natural environments, an affinity for diverse multi-cultural engagement, fearless innovation and a dry eclectic sense of humor. He is married with Lori Taketa of Hawai'i, Maui and O'ahu.
Educated at Dartmouth College, Sean taught "Politics of Media" at the University of Hawai'i - Manoa and served on the UH-Manoa Broadcast Communications Authority as vice chair.
He has fellowship experiences as a Weinberg Fellow in Honolulu, a Z Fellow with ZeroDivide in San Francisco, and a Knight Media Policy Fellow at New America Foundation in Washington, DC. He has published articles, provided expert testimony before legislative and regulatory agencies, and participated in international conferences around the world. (Click here to find out more)
Facility and Training Coordinator / Radio Station Manager
Matt joined the staff of Access Humboldt in November 2011 as a media production specialist. He has an extensive background in public media and policy - including 19 years as a DJ/programmer for KHSU and 3 years as a production assistant for KEET-TV.
In addition to managing Access Humboldt's Community Media Center, Matt teaches all of the certification classes offered by Access Humboldt, as well as managing Access Humboldt's radio station, KZZH-LP 96.7. He also produces (and sometimes directs) AH's Media Lab productions.
Matt attended Cal Poly Pomona, majoring in Communications. He has over 30 years experience as a recording engineer and sound designer.
Special Projects Wizard
John is an IT consultant, digital media archivist and Special Projects Wizard from Eureka, CA associated with Access Humboldt.
He founded the Community Media Archive in 2009, in partnership with the Internet Archive and Access Humboldt, as a place where public access TV stations and Community Media Centers can archive and share their video programs. It has grown to encompass 700,000 videos from 760 access centers and government entities from around the country.
He has spoken at nine ACM National and numerous ACM Regional conferences about the Community Media Archive and helped many access centers in understanding how to work effectively with the Internet Archive.
He also plays with small single board computers such as the Raspberry Pi and Odroid and likes to build HiDefinition music players based on them...
Production Manager
Juan Carrillo joined the full-time staff at Access Humboldt in 2009 after interning as a media development specialist. In his current role as production manager, Juan coordinates live and pre-recorded video productions for a wide range of clients, including local government jurisdictions and non-profit organizations, as well as developing curriculum for workshops and classes.
Juan's recent projects include researching and installing a full equipment upgrade for our studio control room (including a new video switcher and high-end audio mixing board) and building a video streaming installation to cover city government meetings in Rio Dell.
Information Systems Manager
Clay McGlaughlin joined the staff at Access Humboldt in June 2015 as a media production specialist, operating Tricaster equipment to cover local government meetings. He has an extensive background in digital communications and media development, with more than a decade of experience in computer tech support, journalism and digital publishing.
In his current role as information systems manager, Clay performs a wide range of tasks including website and software development (in Python and Java), data analysis, video editing and processing, tech support and training for members, and much more.
Previously, Clay worked for four years as a staff writer and photographer at the Times-Standard newspaper in Eureka, CA, after spending several years as a freelance photographer in the Midwest. He has a master's degree in social science from HSU, a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an associate's degree in computer information systems and business management.
In addition to his work at Access Humboldt, Clay teaches classes at College of the Redwoods in digital publishing and computer information systems, and freelances as a writer, editor, photographer and digital media consultant.
Digital Distribution Manager
Jerusha Wilhelmi was one of the first employees of Access Humboldt, joining the organization in 2007 after several years of technical work for the local NBC affiliate.
In her role as Digital Distribution Manager, Jerusha processes and schedules all the content received from community members, governmental entities and educational institutions. She also recruits and manages operators for our gavel-to-gavel meeting coverage, handles the televised bulletin boards, and functions as the central nervous system of our digital content delivery systems.
Director of Admin & Development
Monique Harper-Desir has 8 plus years of coordination experience from a wide array of organizations and businesses. Her Associates degree is in Media Production and she held her first Media based job at Amherst Media, as a Youth Video/Photography program Coordinator, for 5 years.
Monique is a freelance graphic/web designer and works creating visual arts. She has her BA in Arts Management and Leadership and has used all these skills to co-found local organization Black Humboldt.
She now works to incorporate all these aspects into her position at Access Humboldt as the Executive Assistant.
Social Media Strategist
Brianna Chapman was born and raised in Eureka.
She currently attends Chapman University in Orange, CA pursuing a dual bachelor's degree in Film Production and Business Administration.
She has worked locally as a freelance photographer and videographer, specifically focusing on music videos, live events, and commercials. She also works as a tutor at Alder Grover Charter School.