Wael Habbal is an Arab actor, educator and voice influencer born in Damascus – Syria. He moved to Dubai in 1999 and started his career in VO in 2003.

Besides being the chief sound engineer at MBC Group, one of the largest television networks in the Middle East, he was the official male voice of Al Arabiya News Channel.

His voice and skilled performances led the way for him to become the official voice for many major brands in the Middle East,

He was chosen in 2012 to be the Arabic voice in the Google Maps application.

He visited many countries in search of experience and knowledge in the world of voiceover, and participated in many workshops, seminars, and festivals around the world, trying to put Arabic voiceover on the global map,

After gaining sufficient experience and knowledge, he opened his first Arabic voice training course in 2014, and his students were the first generations of professionals specializing exclusively in the field of Arabic voice acting,

In 2019, HDTC Media, a large media training center, was opened under his management to provide, with a team of trainers, media training services in many Arab countries,

Wael believes that all human voices can perform with a meaningful impact, and that the human voice is the mirror of the soul.

Instagram @Whabbal

Twitter @wael_habbal

Stacey Y. Abrams is the House Minority Leader for the Georgia General Assembly and State
Representative for the 89th House District. She is the first woman to lead either party in the
Georgia General Assembly and is the first African-American to lead in the House of
Representatives. Stacey serves on the following committees: Appropriations, Ethics, Judiciary
Non-Civil, Rules and Ways & Means. She co-founded and acts as Senior Vice President of
NOWaccount Network Corporation, a financial services firm. Stacey also co-founded Nourish,
Inc., a beverage company with a focus on infants and toddlers, as well as other entrepreneurial
ventures. Formerly, she was Deputy City Attorney for the City of Atlanta. Prior to her tenure at
the City, she was Special Tax Counsel at Sutherland, with a focus on tax-exempt organizations,
health care and public finance.
In 2012, Stacey received the prestigious John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award, which honors an
elected official under 40 whose work demonstrates the impact of elective public service as a
way to address public challenges. Stacey has been recognized nationally as one of “12 Rising
Legislators to Watch” by Governing magazine and one of the “100 Most Influential Georgians”
by Georgia Trend for 2012 and 2013. She has been honored as a Legislator of the Year by the
Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, as Public Servant of the Year by the Georgia Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce, Outstanding Public Service by the Latin American Association,
Champion for Georgia Cities by the Georgia Municipal Association, as Legislator of the Year by
the DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce. She received the Georgia Legislative Service Award
from the Association County Commissioners Georgia, the Democratic Legislator of the Year
from the Young Democrats of Georgia and Red Clay Democrats, and an Environmental Leader
Award from the Georgia Conservation Voters. She was also Grand Champion for the Legislative
Livestock Round-Up at the Georgia State Fair.
Stacey is a former term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Next Generation Fellow
of the American Assembly at Columbia University on U.S. Global Policy and the Future of
International Institutions, an American Marshall Memorial Fellow, an American Council of
Young Political Leaders Fellow, a Council on Italy Fellow, a British-American Project Fellow, a
Salzburg Seminar – Freeman Fellow on U.S.-East Asian Relations, a Salzburg Seminar Fellow on
youth and civic engagement and a Yukos Fellow for U.S.-Russian Relations.
She is an alumnus of the Leadership Georgia, Leadership Atlanta and the Regional Leadership
Institute. She has received the Stevens Award for Outstanding Legal Contributions and the
Elmer Staats Award for Public Service, both national honors presented by the Harry S. Truman
Foundation. She is also a 1994 Harry S. Truman Scholar.
Stacey was inducted into the Academy of Women Achievers by the YWCA of Metro Atlanta and
was chosen by Womenetics as a 2011 POW! Winner and by Atlanta Woman magazine as one of
its “25 Power Women to Watch.” Other recognition includes Georgia Trend’s “40 Under 40” list,
the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “Top 50 Under 40” list, as well as recognition as one of
Georgia’s Rising Super Lawyers by Atlanta Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine. She was also
named one of “30 Leaders of the Future” by Ebony Magazine.
She has published articles on issues of public policy, taxation and nonprofit organizations,
including pieces with The Christian Science Monitor, Yale Law and Policy Review, U.S. News and
World Reports and the Huffington Post. Under the pen name Selena Montgomery, Stacey is the
award-winning author of eight romantic suspense novels, which have sold more than 100,000
copies.
Stacey currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Agnes Scott College, the Board of Directors
for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the Board of Directors for the Gateway
Center for the Homeless, and the Advisory Boards for Literacy Action and Health Students
Taking Action Together.
Stacey received her J.D. from the Yale Law School. She graduated from the LBJ School of Public
Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin with an M.P.Aff. in public policy. She earned a B.A. in
Interdisciplinary Studies (Political Science, Economics and Sociology) from Spelman College,
magna cum laude.

As the owner of the Legendary Marc Graue Voice Over Studios, a Burbank California landmark for over 35 years I’ve worked with Hollywood’s elite voice talent  for over four decades and also offer specialized voiceover classes and workshops!
As a Voice Actor you can hear me as one of the iconic pirate voices on Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride seen & heard by millions daily, Alaska State Troopers, Promos for Shark Week, DC’c Legends Of Tomorrow, Cartoon Network & Nickelodeon, parodies for Jimmy Kimmel Live & Real Time with Bill Maher and  hundreds of cartoons and  Video Games.

As a producer and voice over coach, I’ve produced voice over demos for some of the top voice over talent in the world including E.G.Dailey, Yeardley Smith, Harry Hamlin, Stephen Root, Maurice LaMarche, Randy Thomas, John DiMaggio, Dennis Haysbert, Carlos Alazraqui, John Ratzenberger & 100’s more. My coaching methods come from over 40 years of Voicer Over experience as a Producer, Director, Voice Actor, Casting Director and Studio Owner!

As an artist on the go, you know that inspiration often strikes in the most unlikely places.  But inspiration never waits for you to find the perfect conditions.  You’ve got to either capture that lightening the moment it strikes or it’s gone forever.  That’s why we created the Eyeball, so you can create studio quality tracks anytime, anyplace. Kaotica envisions a colorful tapestry of artists, their stories and shared ideas, creators and industry pros like yourself who make up our awesome community!

Kaotica was born in 2009 when founder, Konrad Zukowski, was watching his friend make beats in his basement studio.  His friend had just finished installing thousands of dollars’ worth of foam and sound insulation to treat his space, unfortunately all his time, money and effort did not produce his desired outcome.  With a passion in music, and an urge to resolve this dilemma, Konrad applied his background in business and innovative spirit into creating Kaotica and the revolutionary Eyeball used by some of the world’s greatest talent today.

 It took years of research and development, patent implementation, and countless hours to introduce the Kaotica Eyeball to the world in 2015.  Established in Canada, Kaotica believes in supporting local suppliers and businesses.  The Eyeball is 100% manufactured in North America to ensure consistent quality. Our services are found locally to provide outstanding support and experience to our valued customers.

Chicago native Joe Mantegna has a strong background in both theater and film. After making his Broadway debut in Stephen Schwartz’s musical of Studs Terkel’s Working, Joe was awarded the Tony and Joseph Jefferson Award for his acclaimed performance as cynical real-estate agent Richard Roma in David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross.

Closely associated with Mamet’s work, Joe starred in the theatrical premiere of A Life in the Theater, The Disappearance of the Jews at the Goodman Theater, and in the Broadway production of Speed the Plow with Ron Silver and Madonna. In addition, Joe directed a critically acclaimed stage production of Mamet’s Lakeboat, starring Ed O’Neil and George Wendt, in a successful Los Angeles theatrical run.

Always the baseball fan, Joe conceived and co-wrote the Off-Broadway play Bleacher Bums, inspired by countless afternoons watching the Chicago Cubs play in Wrigley Field. Once the Chicago PBS affiliate picked it up for production, the play both earned Joe an Emmy Award and gave him the opportunity to direct an updated version in a successful run at Chicago’s Organic Theater. Joe also appeared in The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit and Cops, along with taking two European tours with the Organic Theater Company. SHOWTIME has produced yet another version of Bleacher Bums that premiered in 2002.

Joe made his feature film debut in 1985 as the womanizing dentist in Frank Perry’s Compromising Positions, based on Susan Isaacs’ best-seller. His early films include co-starring roles in The Money Pit, Weeds and Suspect. He also starred in the critically acclaimed David Mamet films House of Games (now a cult classic) and Things Change, for which he and co-star Don Ameche both received the coveted Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival. In 1991, Joe starred in the highly praised police thriller, Homicide.

Joe has also starred in Woody Allen’s Alice and Celebrity, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather III, Barry Levinson’s Liberty Heights and Bugsy, Steven Zaillian’s Searching for Bobby Fischer and Billy Crystal’s Forget Paris.

Other stand-out roles include Up Close and Personal, Baby’s Day Out, Airheads, Queens Logic, Wait Until Spring Bandini, Eye for an Eye, The Runner, and Stephen King’s Thinner. In addition to being the featured reader for numerous books-on-tape, Joe has narrated the Oscar-nominated documentary films Crack U.S.A.: Country Under Siege and Death on the Job.

Joe had a starring role in the CBS miniseries of Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel The Last Don, which garnered him an Emmy Award nomination. He also enjoys appearing regularly as the voice of Fat Tony on The Simpsons.  As rich and varied as Joe’s career is, “Nothing,” says he, “interferes with my doing The Simpsons!” Joe’s original feature films for cable include starring roles in State of Emergency, A Call to Remember, My Little Assassin, The Water Engine, The Comrades of Summer, Persons Unknown, Boy Meets Girl, and The Rat Pack, for which he was nominated for both another Emmy and a Golden Globe Award.  In later films like Hoods and Jerry and Tom, Joe both starred and served as Executive Producer.

During his career Joe has portrayed several real people, such as George Raft in Bugsy, Fidel Castro in My Little Assassin, and most notably, as Dean Martin in The Rat Pack. His role as Josh Waitzkin’s father in Searching for Bobby Fischer was based on Fred Waitzkin, who wrote the book upon which the film was based. Joe’s TV-movie debut was as Joe Esposito, Elvis’ road manager and close friend in the 1979 miniseries Elvis starring Kurt Russell.

In 2000, Joe completed production on his feature film directorial debut, Lakeboat, written for the screen by David Mamet from his original play. Starring Charles Durning, Peter Falk, Robert Forster, Andy Garcia, Denis Leary and George Wendt. The film opened the L.A. Film Festival to critical acclaim last fall and made its theatrical release in June 2001.

Joe spent the summer of 2000 in Spain and France filming the feature Off Key with Danny Aiello and George Hamilton. The comedy is about a trio of famed opera singers who unwittingly find themselves reunited at a wedding ten years after their tempestuous breakup.  Joe headlined a series of original films for the A&E Network, based on Robert Parker’s popular Spenser detective novels. The first, Small Vices, premiered in summer of 1999 with the second, Thin Air, following in fall 2000.  His last entry to the Spenser series, Walking Shadow, continues to play on A&E. Due to budget cuts A&E has no future plans for more in this series.

Spring of 2001 found Joe in Venice, Italy for several weeks filming the feature, LAGOON.  2001 was a busy year for Joe. He finished production on the SHOWTIME film, Men Vs. Women! that co-starred Paul Reiser, Christine Lahti and Glenn Headly, directed by Chazz Palmenteri.

He also starred as Justice Joseph Novelli in the CBS series First Monday.The series co-starred James Garner and Charles Durning.

Summer 2002 found Joe and his daughter Gia in his home town of Chicago, filming the wonderful slice of life film, Uncle Nino with Anne Archer. Released in 2003, this gem played at selected theaters, including a record breaking run of 43 weeks in Grand Rapids Michigan.

In 2002, Joe starred in the Italian film Pontormo, playing the role of Jacopo Pontormo, an Italian Renaissance painter (b. 1494, d. 1557, Firenze).  Joe also co-starred in Stateside, a drama based on a true story starring Johnathan Tucker and co-starring Val Kilmer, Carrie Fisher, Penny Marshall and Diane Venora.

Joe starred as police chief Will Girardi in the popular and critically acclaimed CBS series, Joan of Arcadia.  Joan received several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations during its two season run from 2003-2005.

In 2005 Joe co-starred in Nine Lives, a film by Rodrigo Garcia that made both Ebert’s and Roeper’s Top 10 List for that year. Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life. Accepted at Sundance, the film also stars Glenn Close, Amy Brenneman, Holly Hunter, Dakota Fanning, Sissy Spacek and Kathy Baker.

In 2006 Joe was involved in several independent film projects including Elvis and Annabelle, West of Brooklyn and Lonely Street. He also costarred with Debora Messing in The Starter Wife by Gigi Levangie Grazer for the USA network.  For this, Joe was nominated for an Emmy in the category of Best  Supporting Actor.  Since 2007 Joe has been back on CBS  as the star of Criminal Minds. On April the 29th 2011 Joe received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, next to his boyhood hero Errol Flynn. Also in 2011 Joe lent his voice to the character of GREM in DisneyPixar’s CARS2. Joe is also a part of the cast of Kill Me Deadly, a spoof on film noir produced by his cast-mate from Criminal Minds Kirsten Vangsness.   

Joe’s run as David Rossi in Criminal Minds ended Feb of 2020 with the 15th and final season of the hit show. He continues hosting and producing duties on Midway USA’s,  “Gun Stories” for the Outdoor Channel as well as Co-hosting the National Memorial Day Concert.

Charles is an Emmy Award winning Dialogue Director, Annie Award Acting Nominee, Dramalogue Winning Actor, Helen Hayes Award Acting Nominee and Casting Director. Successfully going from genre to genre, he has lent his Dialogue Direction talents to the remake of “The Nutty Professor” starring legend Jerry Lewis, the 2010 Emmy Nominated Prime Time series “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack” (Cartoon Network), the Direct to Videos dark and dramatic “Dante’s Inferno” (Casting and Voice Directing), the horror success “Dead Zone” (Casting and Voice Directing), the family film “The Blue Elephant” with Carl Reiner and Martin Short and several more titles for the Weinstein Co.. He directed the performances in the long form action adventure Fire Breather for Cartoon Network which broke all records for it’s time slot as well as Cast and Voice Directed Van Partiple’s comedy “Johnny Bravo goes to Bollywood” starring Jeff Bennett and Brenda Vacarro. In the Adult Comedy genre Adler Voice Directed and or cast new prime time adult comedy pilots for Fox, MTV and Adult Swim Television. In the Pre-School genre Adler has Voice Directed 3 seasons of hit show Bubble Guppies for NICK Jr.. Charlie Directed Della Reese in an Alicia Keyes production of “Mamma Mae and the Blue Moon” (2012) and has also Directed and voiced(2012) 14 characters in the Children’s book classic “Sweet Pickles”(Amazon Books). Adler Voice Directed all the Klasky/ Csupo franchised series and feature films, “Rugrats” (Emmy Award)”, The Wild Thorn berry’s” (Tim Curry), “Rocket Power”, “Pre School Daze”, “All Grown Up” and all of their pilots. Adler has also directed “Stripperella” (Pamela Anderson SPIKE TV), “The Replacements”, “The Emperor’s New School”(directing legend Eartha Kitt), “The Buzz on Maggie” all for Disney Television. Charlie also cast and Voice Directed “Eloise at the Plaza” w/Lynn Redgrave (Starz), “Holly Hobbie” with Jane Lynch (American Greeting Cards) and Spawn (Film Roman). As a Voice Actor, Adler can be heard as series regulars in well over 100 animated series often playing opposite himself. He was nominated for an Annie Award for his multiple roles as Cow, Chicken and the Red Guy in the Emmy Nominated series “Cow and Chicken”, was Baboon in “I.M. Weasel” (opposite Michael Dorn) and can be heard playing 5 roles (including Cobra Commander) in the “GI Joe Resolute” Internet series as well as reprising Cobra Commander in Hasbro’s “GI Joe Origins” (2010) on the HUB. Somwhere in the world daily Adler can be heard as the manic Mr. Whiskers in Disney’s”Brandy & Mr. Whiskers” (opposite Kaley Cuoco), The Evil Eric Raymond and Techrat in “Jem”, 3 roles in “Pet Aliens”, 3 roles in “Shuriken School “, 3 roles in “Space Goofs”, 2 roles in “Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks” for PBS and Dr. Doom and his mother Coco Von Doom in “Marvel Super Hero Squad”. He has has also Voice Directed two Marvel Super Hero Squad video games for THQ. He is the voice of Starscream in the Michael Bay mega blockbuster Transformers Movie Trilogy and has reprised his role of Starscream for the 2012 Universal Theme Park “Transformers Ride”. Some other notable characters of Adler’s are Buster Bunny in Steven Spielberg’s “Tiny Toon Adventures,” Ickis in “AAAHH!!! Real Monsters” and Ed and Bev Bighead in “Rocko’s Modern Life.” He has also been an original “Smurf”, was an original “G.I. Joe”, an original “Transformer”, a “Glow Friend” ,was 3 roles in original “My Little Pony ” series(Spike the Baby Dragon, Moochick, Trundle King)and was in Ralph Bakshi’s cult classic “Cool World” playing opposite Kim Bassinger and Brad Pitt as Nails Pitt’s neurotic sidekick. Named one of the “Top 13 All Time Voice-Over Artists” by Animation Magazine and “Voice of The Decade” by Animation World News(2000), Adler is at the undisputed top of the animation world. Adler is also the Director, co-writer and star of the independent live action movie “No Prom for Cindy,” appearing in over 45 prestigious film festivals worldwide and winning numerous awards in Acting/and Directing categories. The movie was adopted by San Francisco State University’s Film Department as part of their curriculum. As a stage actor, Charlie starred on Broadway in “Torch Song Trilogy”(1984) as a successor to Harvey Feinstein and toured in the First National Company which earned him a “Helen Hayes Award Best Actor” nomination (1985). Off-Broadway, Adler co-starred in the hit “Family Business” at the Astor Place Theater for a year as well as appearing in Alan Albert’s acclaimed Improv. Company, “The Proposition”. Adler co-starred and played opposite comedy legend Imogene Coca in “Once Upon a Mattress,” with Professor Irwin Corey in Neil Simon’s “God’s Favorite” and toured as Edward Albee’s complex anti hero in “Zoo Story.” In addition, he has played Israel Horowitz’s Hero in “Dr. Hero” ( another disturbed soul), as well as the Emcee in “Cabaret.” On television Charlie appeared on “The Redd Foxx Show (with Pam Adlon)(Lorimar ABC)” assumed the roles of three generations of sons for PBS in “Then and Now,” and guest starred On “Hot in Cleveland” opposite Susan Lucci and Wendie Malick in the two part “I Love Lucci” as Lucci’s Director. In his youth, (when he had brown hair and eyelids), Adler was a familiar face in dozens television commercials for Coca-Cola, McDonalds, IBM, G.E. Big Red Gum and Safeguard Soap. As a writer, Adler has co-written “Steven Spielberg’s Tiny Toon Adventures” episodes and his critically acclaimed One Man Show (playing eleven characters), “There Used to Be Fireflies,” which won him a Dramalogue Award for “Best Actor “(1996), (a performance he reprised in 2006 Directed by Asaad Kelada) and a Dramalogue Award for Set Design (1996) as well. He also paints and sells his work to calm down and remember just who in the hell he is.

Actor, Singer, Director, Producer, TAMARA TUNIE is a star of the Theater, Film, and Television, whose distinctive voice has been heard on many commercials and documentaries. Television performances include Law and Order: SVU, The Red Road, Black Earth Rising, Almost Family, Dietland, AppleTV’s See, and NetFlix’s new action series Cowboy Bebop, and many more.

 Broadway credits include Dreamgirls, Julius Caesar, Oh Kay!, Lena Horne: the Lady and her Music. Other theatre credits: Familiar (Obie Award), American Son (Berkshire Theatre Award), Building the Wall, The Tempest, 42^ND Street, The Roommate, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Les Liasons Dangereuse, Antony and Cleoopatra, All’s Well That Ends Well.  

Films include A Journal for Jordan, Flight, The Devil’s Advocate, The Caveman’s Valentine, City Hall, Evve’s Bayou, Irreplaceable You, Fall to Rise, Bad Vegan, and more.

Ms. Tunie’s first “role” as Broadway producer, was on the team responsible for the Tony Award-winning musical “Spring Awakening.” She also produced August Wilson’s Tony Award-nominated “Radio Golf“, and “Magic vs Bird”. Off-Broadway, Ms. Tunie produced The Dutchman at The Cherry Lane Theater and the world premiere of Frog Kiss at Virginia Stage Company in Norfolk Virginia.

Ms. Tunie had the honor and pleasure of directing FEELIN’ GOOD!, Tony Award winner LaCHANZE’S autobiographical, one-woman show.  She directed and co-wrote the world premiere of Jazzland at The Harlem School of the Arts, and is directing the new musical Dorothy Dandridge, about the life of the legendary Hollywood movie star. Also, under Ms. Tunie’s direction, Love and Southern Discomfort, a new musical set in the sultry south, is currently in development, destined for Broadway.

She produced and directed the feature film “See You in September,” starring Justin Kirk and Estella Warren.

Ms. Tunie is an acclaimed vocalist, and her debut album “Dreamsville” launched at the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival. 

In 2005, Mayor Bloomberg awarded her the “Made in New York Award” from the City of New York, for her support and commitment to Film, Television, and Theater in Manhattan. 

Ms. Tunie is a Carnegie-Mellon University Musical Theatre Alumna and is a member of its Board of Trustees.

Director and founder of the Ibero-American Festival Viva Voz, and of the Academy of expression and dubbing A Voz, whose main headquarters are located in Bogotá, Colombia. Her professional training as a journalist has led her to combine her passion for the media with acting, her training base in her homeland, Valle del Cauca.

He has been the official voice of the US channel for Latinos HITN and has dubbed actresses such as Jennifer Lawrence, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Milla Jovovich, among others into Spanish.

In the media, he worked as a journalist in radio stations such as Todelar, Colmundo, and in the newspaper, El Espectador, where he received recognition for the report “Nelly Mina won the Afro-Colombian challenge”, given by USAID in 2013.

He has developed important international conferences and workshops such as Emotion in documentary narration (Voice Over Atlanta 2017); Performance and vocal technique for announcers (World Voices, Santo Domingo 2017 and 2018), Advanced interpretation techniques (Voice Masters Mexico 2017 and 2018) The simple rule of three of speech (National Symposium of Vocology, Bogotá, 2019) and THE TAO DE LA VOZ in Voice Masters Mexico 2020
In November 2019, she was nominated in three categories at the Voice Arts Awards organized by SOVAS (Categories: Outstanding Tv Promo, Outstanding Dubbing Foreign Language, and Outstanding Audiobook Non-Fiction). Isabel is the winner of one Voice Arts Award and 9th-time nominee in 2 years.

Geoffrey Owens graduated ‘cum laude’ from Yale University. Since then, he has built a career as an actor, teacher and director in theater, television and film. He is best known for playing the role of ‘Elvin’ on NBC’s “The Cosby Show.”  He currently plays recurring roles on “The Good Fight,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Ghost,” and “That Damned Michael Che.”  He can be seen in the recently released films “Fatale” and “Hide and Seek.”  On stage, he has created and  performs a one-man Shakespeare show, “Now I Am Alone.” As well as teaching a weekly Shakespeare workshop, he has taught Shakespeare and acting at Yale, Columbia, Pace, HB Studio, Stella Adler Studio, and the FSU/A solo Conservatory.

Valentina Latyna is a Colombian-American Award-Winning Actor/VoiceOver; based in Los Angeles. Two-time SOVAS Award winner as Best Voiceover in the US. Best Actress Short for Defenseless (2020) World Premiere Film Awards. For years she’s been the official voice of big celebrities such as Eva Longoria, Brooke Shields, Giada De Laurentiis, and Tiffany Haddish for the Latin market.

JOEL SNYDER, Ph.D. – President, Audio Description Associates, LLC

Director, Audio Description Project, American Council of the Blind
www.acb.org/adp

President, Audio Description Associates, LLC
Director, Audio Description Project, American Council of the Blind
www.acb.org/adp

Winner of the 2014 Vernon Henley Media Award for promoting and furthering the availability of audio description

Winner of the Career Achievement Award in Audio Description of the American Council of the Blind

One of the first audio describers, Joel Snyder, PhD is a true pioneer in the audio description field. He began describing theater events and media in 1981. A member of Actors’ Equity Association, the American Federation of TV and Radio Artists, and the Screen Actors Guild, and a 20-year veteran of work as an arts specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts, is perhaps best known internationally as one of the first “audio describers” at the world’s first audio description service.

Under contract to the American Council of the Blind (ACB), Dr. Snyder is the founder and director of ACB’s Audio Description Project (ADP) designed to boost awareness of description in all formats throughout the United States. The ADP produced description for ABC-TV’s nationwide coverage of both of President Obama’s inaugurations as well as the description for the Arts & Entertainment Network’s biography, Barack Obama. The Project also produced description for the 30th anniversary DVD release of The Miracle Worker featuring Patty Duke as “Annie Sullivan” and the first-ever audio described tour of The White House. The ADP sponsors the annual Audio Description Awards, coordinates international conferences on audio description, conducts the annual Audio Description Institute, offers the “BADIE” (Benefits of Audio Description In Education—formerly the Young Described Film Critic) contest for students who are blind (the “Listening Is Learning” initiative, sponsored in conjunction with the Described and Captioned Media Program) and maintains the ADP website, the leading resource for information on audio description in all genres: www.acb.org/adp.

As Director of Described Media for the National Captioning Institute, a program founded by Dr. Snyder, he led a staff that produced description for nationally broadcast films and network series including Sesame Street broadcasts and DVDs. He was a member of the American Foundation of the Blind’s “expert panel” charged with reviewing guidelines for educational multi-media description and has been a member of several media access panels at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as well as the Disability Access Committee of the International Telecommunications Union and the Description Leadership Network of the Video Description Research and Development Center.

In addition to work principally in media and audio description training, Dr. Snyder’s Audio Description Associates, LLC develops audio described tours for major museums and visitor centers throughout the United States including the writing/voicing of an audio described tour of the Enabling Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Albright/Knox Gallery in Buffalo, the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL, several Smithsonian Institution exhibits including the National Museum of American History’s “The Flag That Inspired the National Anthem”, and myriad National Park Service and US Forest Service facilities including Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon. Dr. Snyder trained museum docents in audio description techniques at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and Sackler/Freer Galleries, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, the Seattle Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design and the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. He also coached Secret Service agents/White House tour guides in AD methods and, as noted above, he is the producer and author of the first-ever audio described tour of The White House. Dr. Snyder worked closely with the Disability Rights Committee of the Obama for America campaign in 2008, serving as a surrogate speaker on disability issues for the Obama campaign, and coordinated live audio description for the Presidential Inauguration Parades in 2009 and 2013.

Internationally, Dr. Snyder has trained describers or introduced description techniques 40 states and in 51 nations, most recently in Cuba, the Philippines, Israel, South Africa, Iceland, India, Thailand, Ireland, Poland, Hong Kong and Malaysia; he conducted audio description “master classes” in London, Prague, and St. Petersburg, Russia; and developed a team of describers for the Second Annual Moscow International Disability Film Festival as the result of intensive seminars conducted in Russia. He led described tours of Geneva and provided description for the World Blind Union General Assembly in Switzerland following the presentation of a paper on description at the International Federation of Translation conference in Shanghai, China.

Dr. Snyder is the recipient of the American Council of the Blind/Audio Description Project’s highest award, the Barry Levine Memorial Career Achievement in Audio Description; he also was named the 2014 recipient of the ACB Vernon Henley Media Award “for promoting and furthering the availability of audio description;” and in April 2015 was awarded the American Foundation for the Blind’s prestigious Access Award.

Dr. Snyder received his Ph.D in accessibility and audio description from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. His book, “The Visual Made Verbal: A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide to the History and Applications of Audio Description”, is published by the American Council of the Blind. “The Visual Made Verbal” will be published throughout 2017 in Russian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.

Cheryl Wills is an  Emmy award-winning television personality for  New York 1 News, headquartered in New York City. She has been with NY1 News since its launch in 1992 and is one of the station’s most recognizable journalists for breaking news and special coverage. Cheryl is the only journalist in the network’s 25+ year history of her cable news network to conduct a sit-down interview with The Secretary General of The United Nations, His Excellency Ban Ki-moon. She has also interviewed a sitting President: Nobel Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. Cheryl’s groundbreaking interviews earned her a prestigious Medal of Excellence from The United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA).

Cheryl is the acclaimed author of a series of books  about her family’s transition from slavery to freedom in the US. : Die Free, The Emancipation of Grandpa Sandy Wills, Emancipated: My Family’s Fight for Freedom and the newly released “EMMA”

On March 25, 2011, Cheryl Wills made history as the first journalist invited to speak at the United Nations General Assembly Hall for The International Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade where she read passages from her book, “Die Free” which was broadcast live around the world on UNTV.

Cheryl is most proud to be the Commander and Lifetime Descendant Member of the New York Chapter of the Sons and Daughters of the United States Colored Troops – a national organization of Civil War descendants who raise awareness about black soldiers who served during the The Civil War.  She is a graduate of the prestigious S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Sarah Natochenny is a Voice Arts® Award-winning actor best known for her ongoing work in the role of Ash Ketchum on Pokémon since 2006. Since then, she’s been the go-to actor for protagonists in many animated series airing all over the world, reprising roles like Marian in Robin Hood and Tinkerbell in Peter Pan, and originating many roles in other long running series.

Her latest work can be heard in Apple’s #1 fiction podcast, narrating alongside Academy Award Nominee Gabourey Sidibe in Realm’s If I Go Missing, The Witches Did It. She can be heard in Marvel’s Black Widow: Bad Blood, as the narrator and voice of every character, in Funny or Die/Spotify’s The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon, in which she plays 10 characters, and on Audible in Hannukah Haunting as Devorah. She also plays one of the MiniPufts in the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

She hits the stage on occasion in NYC, doing improv, storytelling and sketch comedy, and did several plays before deciding to travel to do convention appearances and be on location, editing, directing and stepping back on camera.

She splits her time between NYC and LA, and helps domestic animals find good homes wherever she goes.

Gina Kim made her mark when she co-wrote and starred in the Off-Broadway autobiographical play “Miss Kim” to rave reviews. She went on to become a Producer and content creator for The Young Turks. Gina is also actively engaged in sexual abuse education through art. She has a passion for empowering the voiceless to heal from their abuse. She founded an organization called ARIA (Awareness of Rape & Incest Through Art) in 2004 and raised money for Mt. Sinai’s Sexual Assault & Violence Intervention Program, NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault, and Safe Horizon.

I have been doing Voice over and On-Camera commercials for 30 years. I started in radio right out of college. In that time I’ve developed an extensive skill set and learned to take direction well. My objective in VO, as well as On-Camera work, is to do whatever it takes to have everybody present feel that the that the end product they get, is the best it can be. I like to be the one to find common ground that solves issues for creative and clients alike. Often times on set or in the studio the root concept evolves. My objective is to evolve with the concept as directed and bring as much to the table as I can to the work. I earn my money. I’m an improv specialist with 25 years of improvisation on stage, on camera, and in the studio. I also have no trouble reading a script exactly as written.
I’m now vocal coach teaching “Improv and the real guy read” for VO and I’m head of “On-Camera Commercials ” at “Gray Studios.” Premier acting school. After being in over 200 on-camera commercials and having done over 1,000 voice overs in my 25 years in the business, as well as having been on the agency side copywriting and casting…..I have a lot to share to help others. I’m also one of the few coaches who is also currently working and has commercials running so I know the markets and trends well. I’m passionate about all of it and I go all in.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, I wish I gave away T-shirts to those who could prove they actually read this bio. Tell ya what if you message me ” I found Smart & Final to be neither “. I promise I’ll get ya something 🙂

Miranda Parkin is a 20-year-old VO artist who has been working in Voiceover since age 5. Commercially, she is excellent at improvisation and the conversational read. She also excels in dialect and character work for animation, and she has a great ear for matching voices. Miranda is also a singer/songwriter. Miranda also does Youtube reviews of TV shows as well.

HOLA! My name is Vicky Tessio, I´m a European Spanish Voiceover Artist, Voice Actor, Director and Coach.

My accent is Castilian, the neutral European Spanish. I also record in British English with a Spanish/International accent.

I’m based in London and work with clients from all over the world.

I am the proud winner of a  Voice Arts Award 2017 and 2020, and the host of the Speed Dating Con Tu Demo Español at That’s Voiceover Career Expo.  Also, I´ve been nominated for two awards this year 2021.

DC Glenn is an American film actor and voice-over artist residing in Atlanta, GA. He is also known as one half of the 90’s rap group Tag Team who created the classic stadium anthem “Whoomp! There It Is.” And recently the hit SAG National Commercial Ad by GEICO, Scoop There It Is!

DC has been training tenaciously for film, tv, and commercial acting since 2017. Enjoying this fruitful journey sharpening his craft with L.A. acting coach Crystal Carson (Auditioning by Heart), ATL acting coach Natalia Livingston (Actor Boutique), and improv veteran Ray Bengston. DC has relished the process of auditioning and training with the aid of all his talented actor colleagues on WeAuition to become a successful working actor. DC has also enjoyed training vigorously for years, seeking mastery in the arts of voiceover. His magnetic presence and rich, textured voice have been nurtured by VO coaches Rudy Gaskins and Joan Baker (S.O.V.A.S.), as well as Denise Woods (author of The Power of Voice), dialect coach to the stars. With the continued support of The People Store agency in Atlanta, GA. as his representation. This partnership is achieving goals only dreams are made of.

Carin Gilfry is an experienced voice actor who voiced thousands of commercials, instructional videos, IVR systems, eLearning programs, documentaries, and video games, and narrated and produced over 100 audiobooks. Her clients include FedEx, Citibank, Duncan Hines, Aspercreme, Quaker, Clairol, CVS, Zulily.com, Neutrogena, Benjamin Moore, GrubHub, Jakks Pacific Toys, Little Tikes, Play Doh, Denny’s, Shutterfly, Audible.com, Quell, and many more. Carin is the founder of Voice Actors of NYC, a group of over 3000 members dedicated to helping the voiceover community in New York City. She is also the co-creator and co-chair of the VOcation Conference; a conference all about the business side of all things voiceover. Carin Gilfry began her career as a singer. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the USC Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. She is also a mom to two little girls ages 1 and 3.

MICHAEL SCOTT is a SAG-AFTRA Actor and Voiceover Artist who began his career making television and radio commercials for the military, during his 20 years of service in the U.S. Army.  Michael’s extensive training and unique performance skills in Improv Comedy led to being signed by VOX, Inc. Talent (Voiceover), Commercial Talent Agency (Commercial), Mitchell & Associates Talent (Theatrical), and ACM Talent (Manager). Michael also has international representation in Africa, South America, and Europe.

Michael is also a College Educator/Executive, Professional Musician, Entrepreneur, and is currently in production of his own International Action Adventure Travel Show!

Thembisa S. Mshaka is a 5-time Telly Award winner and Promax/BDA Gold Award-winning writer who has served in the entertainment industry for over 18 years, spanning the areas of touring, management, magazine publishing, recorded music and technology, advertising, music supervision for film, voice over, and television. As Senior Copywriter at Sony Music, and 2-time NARM Award winner, her campaigns contributed to the sale of more than 150 million albums for artists including Lauryn Hill, Will Smith, Beyonce, Wyclef Jean, NaS, Maxwell, George Michael, Wu-Tang Clan, Bow Wow, Jill Scott and Babyface. The former GAVIN rap editor has also written for Honey, essence.com, LAUNCH.com, and served as contributing editor for The Hotness.com and BLAZE Magazine. She contributed to anthology Sometimes Rhythm: Sometimes Blues edited by Taigi Smith and 25 Hip-Hop Icons, an academic reference volume published by Greenwood Press. Thembisa is currently the Copy Director for BET Networks

Award Winning Advertising Copywriter:
I am the first Copy Director in BET Networks’ 28-year history. I bring consistency, continuity, and vitality to the network voice across all platforms: television, online, broadband, print, off-channel and pro-social. The year I arrived, BET Networks won 49 2005 Telly Awards, the majority of which were campaigns that I created. I also served as producer on promo shoots for Rip The Runway starring LL Cool J and Gabrielle Union and the 25 Heroes AIDS Awareness campaign starring India.Arie, Kelly Rowland, Lyfe Jennings and others. I served as lead writer for top-rated BET original series campaigns including College Hill, Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is and American Gangster. I also produce radio campaigns for all BET properties, including Black Girls Rock! and record-breaking series The Game. Finally, I oversee all corporate communications materials, from salute ads to our annual upfront sales kit and the fabulous BET Awards souvenir program book.

With clever, cutting edge flair, I effectively conceived, developed and delivered advertising campaigns for Sony Music labels and recording artists. Duties include writing scripts, executing treatments and selecting voice-over talent, while micromanaging projects across several departments under tight deadlines. In just 5 years, the campaigns I’ve created total over 170 million albums sold, for these artists and many others: Lauryn Hill • Destiny’s Child • Shirley Caesar • Maxwell • NAS • Macy Gray • B2K • Jagged Edge. I am responsible for Beyonce’s Dangerously In Love solo debut album campaign, Sony Music’s best-selling album in the United States for calendar 2003 and fiscal 2004.

My artist-as-brand approach to advertising tipped well ahead of the multi-media lifestyle trend that has overtaken the advertising industry. Several artists with whom I’ve worked directly have become endorsement powerhouses for beverages, beauty, and apparel or bonafide multi-media icons based upon the success they achieved in music: Will Smith (Oscar-nominated actor) • Beyonce’ (Pepsi, Loreal)• 50 Cent (G-Unit/Vitamin Water/RBK) • Wyclef Jean (LGIC)

A bilingual, New York-based actor, singer, and voiceover performer, TONY CHIROLDES is an original Broadway cast member of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical IN THE HEIGHTS. During its 3-year run, Chiroldes also stepped out of the ensemble to play the roles of KEVIN and the PIRAGUA GUY.

Juana is a sought after LA Spanish voice artist with a clear & true neutral accent.

Born in Colombia, South America – she has over 20 years of experience as a presenter and voice-over artist.

She has a deep understanding of Hispanic / Latino culture and knows how the significance of words varies from country to country.  This allows her to effectively communicate with her target audience in a neutral, simple, clear, inclusive and respectful way.

Clients include worldwide multi-national and international companies seeking an efficacious Spanish language talent with neutral accent to transmit their message.

 Education:

​M.A. International Commerce and Policy,

​School of public policy, George Mason University. Virginia, U.S.A. (2003)

      B.A., Journalism, Faculty of Mass-Communication, Cairo University (1983)

Professional Experience

Alghad TV (2013-2018)

Washington and NY/UN bureau chief.

Hosting a weekly show on politics and entertainment

Nile News Channel, Egypt TV (1999-2011):

Washington Bureau Chief.

-Interviews with senior U.S officials including Former Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Former Sec. of  State Collin Powell (three interviews), Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers, and others.

Abu Dhabi TV(1996-1999):

Washington Bureau Chief.

-Coverage of the hostages crisis in Lima, Peru (1996)

-Producing and presenting the first Arabic documentary in the USA: “Terrorism in America” in 1997 on the Oklahoma City bombing.

THE VOICE OF AMERICA (1991-1996):

International Radio Broadcaster

-Producing and anchoring of live & integrated shows.

-Special Achievement Award, the most prestigious award by the VOA for an important role in reformatting and hosting “Around the World” news show.

Middle East Radio “Al Sharq Al Awsat”, Egypt (1985-1991)

Radio Broadcaster and programmer.

Managerial Experience

       *Frontcom, LLC., Manager (2001-present)

Producing TV reports, features, live shows, special programs, and documentaries for many channels including Al Jazeerah documentary channel, Nile News, Al Ikhbaria, Saudi channel 2 (English), etc.

  * Min Washington Inc., General Manager (1999-2001).

Managed a TV production company that provided TV reports, features, live shows, and special programs for many Arab TV channels Both in Arabic and English, including MBC, Abu Dhabi TV, Dubai TV (Arabic and English), Kuwait TV, and Nile News Channel.

Public speaking:

-Lectures at the West Point military academy, Columbia U and NYU, and taking part in panels including the annual conference of the USAID, and BBC’s workshops.

-Appeared on many TV channels including CNN International, NBC, Fox News, MSNBC, Canada TV, etc., and many Arabic TV channels, to comment on M.E. events, and the U.S policy.

*Elected twice President of the Washington Association of Arab Journalists (WAAJ) with an overwhelming majority.

Since I was little I was always involved with art. I studied ballet, piano and guitar, and I really liked reading. Over time I also added singing and theater classes. All this knowledge laid the foundation for my future to be linked to the world of creativity. At the University I studied Communication Sciences and later I specialized in voiceover and voice acting.

My first participations in the world of entertainment were in children’s content due to my abilities in characterization of animation, interpretation and singing. Giving the voice to “Dc McStuffins” and “Plim Plim” for Disney Channel fills me with satisfaction.

Later, I approached the world of commercial voice over; initially for Argentina, then for Latin America and finally for the US. Some of the brands that trust my work: Johnsons Baby, Uber, Natura, Always, State Farm US, Skechers US, Koleston, Protex, among others.

And being the only official female voice for On-Air Promos for National Geographic is a source of great pride. I am the type of woman who enjoys what I do to the fullest and I feel happy and free to do what I like.

Monica Steuer is a trilingual award-winning actress with decades of experience in
theatre, film, TV and voice overs. Monica has worked in Mexico, Scotland, Peru, Puerto
Rico and the USA and her latest theatre credits include: Fur (NYTW@NextDoor );
Sweat (People’s Light, PA); The Conduct Of Life (Boundless Theatre Co, NY);
Alpha66 (T.Schreiber Studios, NY); Prospect (Boundless Theatre Co, NY) and The
House of The Spirits, (Gala Hispanic Theatre, D.C.) TV&FILM credits include: The
Politician (Netflix), Emergency Call (ABC), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Destiny Has
No Favorites (Best Actress at Viña del Mar IFF, Chile); 200 Letters with Lin Manuel
Miranda; Sleeping With the Fishes with Gina Rodriguez; America with Edward James
Olmos and The Ministers with Harvey Keitel and John Leguizamo; to mention a few.
Monica is also a renowned VO artist and her voice can be heard on audiobooks,
commercials, animation, ESL programs, audio tours, industrials, e-learning programs
and much more. A partial list of clients include: AARP, Eversource, L’Oreal, HBO,
Giorgio Armani, Macys, Caillou ,Audible and The Library of Congress. Monica is a
graduate of The American Academy Of Dramatic Arts. For more information please visit monicasteuer.com

With over twenty years as a professional voice actor, J. Michael Collins has worked with some of the biggest companies, brands, sports leagues, and organizations on the planet. In addition to his work in the classic, agency-based world of VO, J. Michael has established himself as a leading authority in the online casting marketplace and has become recognized as an industry leading voice talent coach and demo producer as well. J. Michael is a 38 time Voice Arts Award winner as a voice actor, demo producer, script writer, and casting director.

Dan Emmett has been working in entertainment for over 20 years. He is a multiple Emmy Award Winning sound mixer and a sought-after voice over artist.

He’s been lucky enough to work for NBC, Fox, Nickelodeon, MTV, Fox Sports 1, SyFy, FX Networks, VH1, USA, AMC, Nick at Nite, Discovery, Food Network, Nick Jr, Teen Nick, syndications, Super Bowl commercials, movie trailers, rebrands, image spots, upfronts, radio stations, character voices, jingles, and narrations.

He can be heard regularly on promo work for CBS and ABC and as narrator for CBS Sports.

Lisa Flanagan is an award-winning narrator, voice actor, stage director, improviser, opera librettist, and classical singer. Her voice-over work includes animation, video games, and commercials. Lisa has received multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, Voice Arts Awards, and the 2019 Audie Award winner for Fantasy.

Doug Melville is a 5th generation leader, executive and diversity change agent.

His family before him worked under 10 different Presidential administrations, from US Grant in 1873 to Jimmy Carter in 1978, to help create more opportunities and recognition for ALL Americans in the military, in government, in law and throughout society.

He is an extension of his work.

Today Melville leads Diversity & Inclusion for Richemont  –  a leading global luxury goods company.

Previously, he was Chief Diversity Officer for TBWA, a top ten Global ad agency collective with offices in 100 countries.

There he co-created & hosted the 2019 Adweek Agency Podcast of the Year -TBWA’s Disruptor Series, Madison Ave’s largest speaker platform. He also lead the launch and curation of OneSandbox.com, a search engine to aggregate women and diverse-owned creative businesses, news and events. Driving $250,000,000+ in spend with the MWBEs on the site.

Prior to TBWA, Melville led the start-up RedCarpets.com – where he created an industry to democratize the red carpet experience.

Melville worked on the executive team of Magic Johnson Enterprises and on the business development team for T Capital Management, Tommy Hilfiger’s capital management firm.

​When not in the office, he works with the US Military and various institutions of higher learning to teach, inspire and help evolve issues relating to equity and inclusion.

​He’s an alum of Syracuse University.

Larissa Gerszke is a Canadian Ballerina hailing from Ottawa, Ontario. She is a senior member of NYC’s renown “Complexions Contemporary Ballet” company, under the artistic direction of Dwight Rhoden & Desmond Richardson. Ms Gerszke has been featured in publications such as the New York Times, Pointe Magazine, Dance Spirit Magazine and the Jerusalem Post (to name a few). She is critically acclaimed for “her impressive musicality which is tied to a powerful body that crackles with energy” (Andrew Blackmore-Dobbyn for Bachtrack). Ms. Gerszke appears in performances both nationally & internationally, in addition to commercials for Shiseido Cosmetics, videos for musical artists Jill Scott & Jennah Bell, and most recently the 43rd Kennedy Center Honors celebrating Debbie Allen, Joan Baez, Garth Brooks, Midori, and Dick Van Dyke. Her life’s work is in sharing a modern day relevance of the 16th century art of Ballet. She is elated to appear for a second time at the SOVAS “Voice Arts Awards” and congratulates all this year’s nominees.