Nik Strong-Cvetich
CEO, Save The Waves Coalition
Joel and his team were amazing to work with on the production of our mini-documentary about water quality issues at Cowell's Beach in Santa Cruz. He managed to produce an outstanding, clear narrative around a very complicated scientific issue, making it accessible to a general audience, but scientifically rigorous to be accurate and factual. This is one of his true strengths; making complicated issues digestible. The film was also aesthetically beautiful, and his whole team were very professional in a difficult contracting process. I look forward to collaborating with Joel in the future on more projects!
Elizabeth Limbach
Director of Communications at MUD\WTR
I’ve been lucky enough to work with Joel Hersch since May 2012, when he began freelancing for Good Times Weekly newspaper, where I was the Managing Editor. Soon, we brought him on as a staff writer and were incredibly grateful to have him there. When I became the editor of the bimonthly surf lifestyle magazine Santa Cruz Waves, I knew that I had to have Joel on my team. At both publications, he is my go-to writer for pieces of in-depth reporting and longform, but he’s also reliable and gifted with any type of assignment. He’s a determined, thorough, and probing reporter and a clever storyteller with impeccable journalistic instincts. It’s a rare, but essential, combination, and one that makes him a truly valuable and promising journalist. It’s a pleasure editing his work and I’m always proud to run his pieces. To boot, he’s as enjoyable to work with as his stories are to read.
David J. Terrazas
Attorney | Government Affairs & Public Policy
Over the past 7 years I've worked with Joel on a variety of successful projects. I highly recommend him to create, plan, and implement impactful print and digital media activities. In his role as a journalist, Joel has an inquisitive nature, creative and able to craft great stories. As Mayor of the City of Santa Cruz, I worked with Joel and his company Swan Dive Media to increase digital communications and outreach in our city. One notable project was focused on educating the public about City efforts to improve water quality at Cowell Beach. The excellence of his finished work, along with his ability to artfully communicate complex issues with a specialist’s eye for detail earned him great respect. Joel's high quality results and collaborative nature make working with him not only highly productive but highly enjoyable as well.
Zachary Gostonian
Marketing Director, Integral Consulting Inc.
I have relied on Joel and his team to lead me through the process of producing the highest-quality video content for our organization. They strategize, plan, shoot, and edit to help us tell the story we want. They are professional, flexible, and creative. Most importantly their end product is of the highest quality to help us showcase our brand. Highly recommend!
Greg Archer
Arts & Culture Journalist for USA Today Network
Joel is a remarkable creative person. A rare bird in that he is an expert reporter and a stellar writer. Not often do you find those two qualities married. However, Joel is unique in that he has a zest for reporting and he's downright good at it. Additionally, the stories he crafts often flow with grace. They are easy to read, often informative and in many cases-- at least during our time working together -- captivating and filled with great news reporting. Joel can also delve into features smoothly. I strongly believe Joel brings something remarkably unique to the creative table and remains one of the easiest creative people I have had the pleasure of working with, and supervising.
Testimonials
Kasey Butler
Sustainable farming and conservation professional
I worked with Joel and his team on sea level rise outreach efforts focused on engaging community members. Joel was great to work with and effectively helped us communicate scientific subject matter, develop bilingual content, and tell the story of this effort in a visually engaging way. I highly recommend Joel and his team. I was blown away by the imagery and how they tied interviews, imagery and voice over together to create a stunning final product. Thank you!
Tyler Fox
Founder at Santa Cruz Waves
It has been a joy working with Joel over the past 10 years. His journalism skills are top notch and I've enjoyed watching him build his media company into something that produces world-class content matched with sensational storytelling. I highly recommend Swan Dive for any marketing/branding projects big or small!
Bennett Williamson
Senior Planner at Ecology Action
After being recommended to us I hired Joel to produce a series of short artist profile videos about our graduating MFA students and their artworks. After a brief initial meeting to sketch out the goals of our project, Joel was able to provide a thorough estimate, and then immediately took on the creative direction and leadership on the project once we were in contract. He served as the primary point of contact with the students, learning about their work, and figuring out how to tell their stories through photo and video. He helped them develop their own talking points, and successfully captured engaging footage of a wide variety of interactive artworks - performances, screens, installations, and sculpture. He was also patient and not daunted by the complex agreements and payment structures needed when working with a public university.
