The Perfect Firestorm

Patrick Davidson is the Executive Director of CAPS Media (Community Access Partners of San Buenaventura). CAPS Media is an independent, nonprofit, membership based, community service organization. CAPS Media’s mission is to create an engaged and informed community through participation in electronic media. 

Since May of 2015, Davidson’s responsibilities include educating and training community members in the use of media, and managing equipment, television and radio recording studios, editing facilities, program production and distribution for the benefit of the residents of Ventura. CAPS Media Member/Producers utilize HD video camcorders, non-linear editing equipment, television and radio production facilities to enable them to record, edit, produce and broadcast individual video productions.

CAPS Media programming airs on CAPS Channel 6 (public) and CAPS Channel 15 (government) and streams 24x7on capsmedia.org, and is also distributed on various social media outlets. The CAPS Media Center houses television and radio studios, multiple edit bays, meeting rooms, offices and a vast inventory of media equipment available for use by individual members and membership organizations. 

CAPS Media is governed by a 13-member Board of Directors that includes representatives from the City of Ventura, Ventura Unified School District, the Ventura Community College District and the Ventura County as well as various community members with an interest in Public, Education and Government access programming and communication. 

In addition to managing the CAPS Media operation, in 2018 Davidson executive produced “The Perfect Firestorm,” a feature-length documentary chronicling the devastating and heroic events that took place in Ventura County caused by the Thomas Fire. 

Prior his tenure at CAPS Media, Davidson was the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Ventura, where he managed the operation of five separate clubs serving hundreds of children throughout the community. 

Earlier in his careers, Davidson was Senior Vice President of original programming for the Disney Channel where he developed and produced a wide range of programming including ‘Disney’s American Teacher Awards’, ‘The Presidential Inaugural Special for Children’, the 1990 edition of ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’ and numerous other series and specials. 

Davidson is an award-winning writer-producer-director specializing in documentary, reality, and event programming. Prior to and following his work at Disney, Davidson produced programming and marketing materials for ABC, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Discovery, History Channel, Lifetime and National Geographic as well as special events and media projects for Caltech, Johns Hopkins University, the White House, U. S. Dept. of Education and the United Nations. He is a former national council member for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Davidson has produced and directed productions in more than 30 countries including profiles on more than 500 inspirational individuals and statesperson among them ambassadors to the United Nations and US Presidents. 

Davidson‘s feature film, The World We Want, tells the remarkable stories of teenage activists throughout the world battling to improve their communities, countries and lives. Shot on location in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Russia, Senegal and the United states, the film follows the students’ journeys for changes that include banning teenage gambling, lowering taxation on village artists, creating a town constitution, securing clean drinking water and more. 

The World We Want won the coveted Audience Award for Best Documentary at the American Film Institute’s AFI FEST in Los Angeles and has been featured at numerous other festivals and events including the Mendocino Film Festival where it received a special Jury Award for Films For Our Future. 

Entering the entertainment industry after a successful career in social work, Davidson produced and directed documentaries, event programming and behind-the-scenes specials including The American Teacher Awards, The Presidential Inaugural Special for Children, Be Our Guest: The Making of Beauty and The Beast, Disney’s Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, Alex Haley, Going Home to Henning, Masada: Fortress of Freedom, Pompeii Rediscovered, On Location: The Winds of War, and series programming including Jules Sylvester’s Wild Adventures, and Sing Me A Story With Belle. 

Davidson's ABC television specials include ImagiNATION: It Starts With You! - showcasing extraordinary organizations and individuals that are making significant and meaningful contributions to their communities, the nation and the world. Recorded in Boston, New York, Washington DC, New Orleans, Chicago and Los Angeles the special includes segments on Special Olympics, Café Reconcile, The Dream Foundation, Athletes For Hope, The Challengers Boys and Girls Club, Donors Choose and other inspiring organizations. Davidson also produced numerous events and media for colleges and universities, the federal government and the United Nations. A sample list of productions includes:

 • United Nations Global Forum on Reinventing Government (Mexico City). Produced a series of profiles on agencies within the Mexican government that were developing best practices of government. The stories were presented at the United Nations Global Forum on Reinventing Government conference in Mexico City. 

• Civic Education Projects. Various productions including a series for the US Congress and the Department of Education including: Representative Democracy in America: Voices of the People, We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution, Project Citizen, and similar school-based civics programs.

 • Johns Hopkins University - Pushing the Boundaries. Presentation for Johns Hopkins that was used for information, outreach and fund-raising.

 • Caltech - The Centennial Celebration for Caltech. A live event hosted by Walter Cronkite including a series of profiles honoring distinguished Caltech scientists and the institutions' 100 years of exploration, discovery and leadership.

 • National Partnership for Reinventing Government. Davidson was the architect of the video production strategy and the producer of a series of motivational stories for the National Partnership for Reinventing Government. Davidson produced profiles and events at the Labor, Defense, NASA, ED, the VA and other agencies, presenting "Hammer Awards" to teams of federal employees, whose work resulted in a government that works better and costs less.

 • Disney. As one of the first 100 executives hired to help rebuild The Walt Disney Company in the mid 1980's, Davidson was Senior Vice President of original programming at The Disney Channel and the creative executive in charge of the development and production of dozens of specials and series including Disney’s American Teacher Awards, and The Mickey Mouse Club. 

Davidson is a two-time Emmy Award nominee and winner of the Cable Ace for outstanding children’s special for The Presidential Inaugural Celebration for Children. In addition to producing specials and series for History, Travel, TBS, Fox and National Geographic Davidson has produced a series of community service specials for ABC including The African American Experience, Volunteers Across America and Environmentality. Davidson has also produced educational and motivational productions for The White House, Johns Hopkins University, Caltech, the U.S. Department of Education, the United Nations, Rotary International, the Boys and Girls Club, Team Survivor Northwest, Metro State University Denver, the Ventura County Family Justice Center and more. 

Prior to his career in the entertainment industry, Davidson was a social worker counseling troubled youth and their families. He is the co-founder of NYPUM - the National Youth Project Using Minibikes, a federally funded juvenile justice diversion program implemented throughout the United States. Launched in 1969 and still in operation in more than 40 communities nationwide, NYPUM provides at-risk youth an opportunity to develop self-esteem, strong values and a sense of responsibility. 

Patrick and his wife Roberta have been married for more than 40 years. Roberta is a nurse at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura (20 years), are 2nd and 3rd generation Californians. They have lived in Ventura County for more than 30 years and have two daughters, Hilary and Claire, and two grandchildren Lily and Colt.   

Prior to Patrick Davidson Productions

Sullivan and Associates

1976 – 1980

Senior producer on-air promotion

Sullivan and Associates was a Hollywood based production company with an exclusive contract to produce promotional, marketing and related media for ABC Television. Davidson wrote the business plan and negotiated with ABC to set up the company. Once the company was up and running Davidson shifted focus to become a senior producer writing, producing and directing marketing campaigns, promos and behind-the-scenes documentaries supporting the entire ABC lineup including Roots, The Winds of War, Masada, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and more.

Glendale Outreach

1973 – 1976

Director of Counseling and Program Development

Glendale Outreach was a drug abuse and counseling program serving at-risk youth and families in the Los Angeles area. The program served hundreds of youth and families in counseling centers, group homes and informal counseling sites in local high schools. Responsibilities included recruiting, training and overseeing the counseling staff, conducting group and individual counseling sessions with at-risk youth and parents, reporting to agency executives and members of the board of directors, and developing and managing funding and compliance issues for government grants.

Miami Outreach

1972 (Summer)

Co-Director of Community Services

Miami Outreach was a third-party crisis intervention project created to coordinate the myriad of protest groups and other agencies converging on Miami, FL for the Democratic and Republican conventions. Responsibilities included coordinating peaceful demonstrations by more than 20 disparate groups with Dade County law enforcement and the DNC and GOP, establishing and managing a 24-hour drug abuse rescue and counseling service, producing a daily newspaper and more.

YMCA of the USA – NYPUM

1970 – 1973

Co-Founder of NYPUM – The National Youth Project Using Minibikes.

NYPUM is a juvenile justice diversion program that guides troubled children to make improvements in their behavior, family relationships, and education. Davidson co-founded the program at a local YMCA in Los Angeles. The project expanded to become a nationwide collaborative juvenile justice diversion program developed and managed by the YMCA of the USA and funded by the federal government and American Honda. Responsibilities included writing the grant proposal to the Federal government (Law Enforcement Assistance Administration - initial grant - $5 million), securing in-kind contribution from American Honda (10,000 Minibikes), developing the program model and conducting workshops for social workers throughout the United States to work with at-risk youth utilizing the unique NYPUM model and resources.

Education

Elementary, middle and high school, Ontario, California 1955 - 1967

Occidental College, Los Angeles 1967 – 1970