About
Mission Statement
SaVoa’s mission is to establish and maintain an accreditation program for voice over artists, and to support continuing education for the advancement of the voice over industry.
Organization and Membership
SaVoa Incorporated is a not-for-profit corporation based in North Carolina. Your membership in SaVoa depends on your successful completion of the peer review process. It tells your clients that you meet or exceed established standards for vocal delivery (performance and technique) and technical delivery (audio quality and technique), and that you conduct business in a manner that enhances the voice over community as a whole.
SaVoa does not and cannot provide the services offered by AFTRA, SAG, ACTRA, EQUITY or any other union. It is not intended to replace or compete with these fine organizations. Similarly, these unions do not provide the specific support and services offered by SaVoa to voice over artists.
Although the Board of Directors of SaVoa and its supporting members are located throughout the world, SaVoa currently conducts business only in English. In addition, at the present time we have sufficient members to qualify voice over artists in English, French, Spanish and German. We cannot yet qualify voice talents in other languages. This is a temporary limitation of the organization and is not meant to exclude voice over artists providing services in other languages. As SaVoa’s peer review roster grows to include bilingual speakers of a qualifying language and any other language, we expect to expand our accreditation program accordingly.
Read our FAQ. Learn more about SaVoa’s goals, peer review and accreditation criteria. Apply today to become a member of the fastest growing organization in the voice over industry.
Ed Gambill – Founding Member, President – Ed is a media producer with a background in radio and television advertising as well as acting. He currently produces “Jazz Out of The Mainstream,” a jazz program featuring unsigned artists and airing on WFDD, a public radio station in Winston-Salem NC. Ed is the President of SaVoa’s executive board of directors. He, along with others, saw the need for an organization dedicated solely to enhancing the voice over profession. As a member of several organizations that were guild-like in structure, Ed drew upon what he learned to help organize SaVoa for the benefit of the voice over community.
Bob Souer – Vice President – If you have watched PBS television, flown on US Airways, taken an eLearning course or studied a second language, you have probably heard Bob Souer’s voice, many times. From documentary film narrations to training and marketing videos and web sites, from audiobooks to television and radio commercials, from imaging liners and promos for radio and television stations; it’s Bob’s delight and joy to give voice to some amazing stories. You can find out more about Bob at his website: BobSouer.com.
Chris Mezzolesta – Chris Mezzolesta has been a professional voice talent since 1990, and has provided a wide range of voices for a wide range of clients and projects. He has appeared on MTV2 in an animated program produced by the network, as well as commercials for LEGO, Herbalife, Golf Digest, and the Midwest-based Dairy Mart chain. His non-commercial credits include Microsoft, Cisco Systems Webex, Goodyear Tires, the London Science Museum, and many others. Chris was also the station announcer for 2 Fox Television Network stations in central Florida. In addition to voice over and jingle vocals, Chris is a professional musician and music producer, concentrating on the comedy music of his band Power Salad, which has appeared many times over the years on the syndicated “Dr. Demento” radio program, including being the show’s #1-requested artist of 2008. Chris has been a member of SaVoa since just after its inception, and is very proud and humbled to have been asked to sit on the Board of Directors of SaVoa and to help further the education of voice artists and maintain the quality of the voice over craft. To learn more about Chris, please visit his web site: VoiceGuy1.com.
Thom Wilkins – Founding Member – Thom Wilkins is a voice-over talent and well traveled storyteller with over 30 years experience in broadcasting and multi-media development and public speaking. He started in broadcasting at the age of 16 as a licensed broadcast engineer (First Class Radiotelephone License) and has worked in AM, and FM, in Country, Easy Listening and Progressive Rock formats and in Commercial Television. He has also designed and managed multinational corporate interactive satellite television networks. Thom has been on-air talent, announcer, director, editor, producer, and manager of several multi-media production groups. Thom holds an MBA and is currently focused on voice-over full time from his private professional ISDN studio located in Columbus, Georgia. More information including demos and current clients can be found at ThomWilkins.com.
Members of the Advisory Board
Robert Jadah – Founding Member – After thirty years as a television, stage, and movie actor, Robert moved into voiceover twelve years ago. In addition to having movie credits at IMDb.com, his radio imaging is now heard in England, the UK, Canada, Chile, and Australia. In addition to having many interactive voice roles, he currently plays the evil Ganondorf in Zelda Re-Orchestrated, and is heard on television ads in Canada, Norway, and the U.S.
Scott Pollak – Founding Member – Scott R. Pollak is a veteran broadcast professional who began his career in New Orleans in 1975 while receiving his BA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Over the years Scott worked at numerous radio stations as on-air host, music director, and creative services director (production manager). He also managed a video production department for BellSouth for 10 years, from 1980-1990.Scott has been a successful freelance voice talent for the past 6 years, while continuing to provide part-time on-air and production work for 104.7 The Fish in Atlanta, 92.5 The Bear (Griffin, GA), and WABE-FM (Atlanta’s National Public Radio affiliate). He has voiced national pieces for the United Way of Illinois, the Boys and Girls Clubs of California, the World Boxing Hall of Fame, American Royal Arts, the Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham, and many more. He also specializes in voicing e-learning projects and has voiced hundreds of hours of tutorials for numerous e-learning producers, whose end clients have included Barrett Firearms, Xilinx computer chips, Embraer Aircraft, and the Atlanta Sleep Study Center. Scott works from his professional in-home studio in an Atlanta suburb. Learn more and hear samples at: VoicebyScott.com
Nikki Saco – Founding Member – Nikki began her voice over career performing children’s narration in the 1980’s and was an acting student of the legendary stage and screen director, Joshua Logan. She is fluent in English and Spanish (raised bilingual), and has provided voiceover services in both languages for TV, radio, the web, children’s audiobooks, numerous product promotions, other corporate projects and medical presentations. In 2007, Nikki provided character narration in the Marco-Relli documentary Not for Sale: the Return of the Global Slave Trade. She is based in South Florida, but has clients in Europe, Australia and the Americas. For more about Nikki, please visit NikkiSaco.com.
Erik Sheppard – Founding Member – Erik is a full time, non-union voice talent from New York with over 10 years experience in the industry. He has been the voice of thousands of projects ranging from business presentations to national television campaigns and is currently the exclusive male voice for many of the most prestigious IVR, corporate and commercial production houses nationwide. Erik also runs his own audio production house on Long Island which provides voice over services to clients across the globe. More information about him can be found at VoiceTalentProductions.com.
Thom Wilkins – Founding Member – Thom is also a member of the Executive Board of Directors. His bio appears in the section above.
Founding Members
SaVoa remains indebted to its founding members. These voice actors volunteered considerable time and attention to developing and maintaining SaVoa’s accreditation program which launched in September, 2007. For that reason, SaVoa wants to acknowledge the contribution of the following founding member(s) who no longer have an active role in SaVoa as a member of the executive board or advisory board:
Kathleen “Kat” Keesling – Founding Member – Kat began in voice over with her first IVR assignment for a telephone banking set-up in 1995. She is a full-time voice talent, recording from 7,000 feet in southwest Colorado. Kat has over 19 years of training experience as well as advanced training in “Train the Trainer” techniques. Kat has successfully instructed students in telephone etiquette, customer service standards and excellence, various software instruction, and banking policy and regulation refresher coursework. Kat also brings a strong operations and management background in medical, banking, and retail. She has special industry experience and competence in Private Sector business with the US and Canadian government and military. Kat incorporates her experience and training to voice work. She has recorded medical and technical narratives and e-learning, as well as web presentations, direct response (short form), television and radio commercials, podcasts, and telephone/IVR recordings.
