Gilroy's CMAP Welcomes to New Americorps VISTA Members

Nick Petrilla and T-Kea Blackman will be working in community media for the next year to help facilitate youth media programs, engage residents, coordinate events, increase CMAP's (Community Media Access Partnership) members and volunteers within Southern Santa Clara and San Benito Counties.  

They will also serve in various video production crew roles from producer to director, editor, audio, and many more for CMAP’s various productions. In addition, they will collaborate with two other community media organizations; Access Humboldt (AH), in Arcata, and Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC), in San Francisco, to help expand media access, community and educational outreach.

When their year of service is completed, the Americorps members, Nick and T-kea will have gained and developed valuable personal and professional skills, built relationships and programs for CMAP, and have ample stories about how their work helped change lives of many residents within Southern Santa Clara and San Benito communities.

T-Kea Blackman is a native of New Jersey who relocated to California after graduating from Howard University with a B.A. in Radio/TV/Film (minor Theatre Arts).

T-Kea said, “I am very excited to be a part of CMAP because this gives me the opportunity to bridge the gap between my two passions; media and community/educational outreach.” T-Kea hopes that by working with CMAP the Americorps program will provide her with professional skills, and help to change the lives of children.

T-Kea has a very strong desire for the betterment and enhancement of under-privileged children and currently serves as Founder and President of "Lady Me," a mentoring program founded on Howard University to help build self-esteem, character and confidence in under-privileged girls in Washington, DC. During her tenure at Howard University, she rallied for children’s health care with the Children’s Defense Fund and has volunteered to teach children in Chicago, IL positive conflict resolution skills. She advocated against gun-violence while promoting peace, and promoted the significance of receiving a higher education.

Ms. Blackman has gained valuable experience in working with infants and children from the ages of all ages in various states and cities such as New Jersey, Washington, DC and Chicago, IL through various daycares, after-school programs, speaking engagements and non-profit organizations. In addition to her passion to work with under-served children, she has a strong passion for the entertainment industry, aspiring to work within Corporate Social Responsibility at a TV network to ensure the network is contributing to today’s social issues. T-Kea has interned at WHUT-TV (PBS affiliate) as a Broadcast Assistant, TV One, LLC (NBC Universal affiliate), in the Production/Programming Department. Lastly, she has gained valuable experience in various student productions on Howard’s campus while serving as Producer, Director and Editor of her mini-documentary. 

Nick Petrilla hails from Orange County, California. It was here, while making videos of his self and friends riding skateboards, where his passion for creating media was born. Nick is working out of the San Benito county CMAP office, located at 829 San Benito Street in downtown Hollister.

He's already made quite an impact working with youth in CMAP's Hollister Youth Media Council, and directing a video crew of volunteers of all ages at the San Benito High School football games, shot and aired by CMAP on cable access television, Charter Channel 20, and streamed live online at www.cmap.tv. 

Nick shared this, “I’ve always thought media and technology can be extremely positive industries. Helping communities build their own public media strongly encourages members to become involved with each other, and creates an outlet for their converging ideas and messages to be heard.”

He attended school for media and graduated from San Francisco State University in 2010 with a BA in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Art. While in college, he interned at IGN Entertainment, a multimedia rich video gaming news website, edited a weekly public access news show, and participated in the San Francisco State Athletic Department’s video productions.

After college, he began working in a video production and post-production studio in Newport Beach, California, as a video editor. He then moved to Eugene, Oregon for a quick stint as a Production Assistant and Floor Director for CBS affiliated KVAL-TV. On his own time, Nick has produced numerous videos, organized events, and created a nationally-recognized website all to promote action sports and community among the youth in his hometown. Nick also volunteered extensively with physically-disabled youth, helping them to participate in sports activities. 

ABOUT CMAP.TV
Community Media Access Partnership (CMAP) is a non-profit, community media center serving the media and technology needs of residents of southern Santa Clara County and San Benito County through media education and training, civic engagement and access to media and technology equipment. CMAP has aired thousands of local media programs online and on its cable channels for public, educational, and for government access (Charter Channels 17, 18, 19, and 20). CMAP's channels stream live online at www.cmap.tv