Award-winning narrator RACHEL L. JACOBS has recorded over 300 titles with major publishers and producers, including Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan, Brilliance, Podium, Scholastic and many many more. Versatile and emotive, Rachel breathes life into each of the characters and stories she reads.  She is a multiple Earphones, YALSA, and Parent’s Choice Award winner, as well as an Audie Finalist.  She has been an avid audiobook listener since she was a child; her love of her work comes through clearly in every story she touches.  Rachel has a BA in Theatre with a focus in Shakespeare and Musical Theater and has performed on stages all over the world.

Audie-Award-winning narrator JENNIFER JILL ARAYA has been listening to audiobooks since she was a young child, and the fact that she now gets to narrate audiobooks for a living is a dream come true. An Audie Award Winner, Earphones Award Recipient, American Library Association YALSA Amazing Audiobooks Award Winner, SOVAS Award Finalist, and three-time Independent Audiobook Award Finalist, Jennifer has narrated nearly 300 audiobooks for a variety of publishers and producers, including Penguin Random House Audio, Simon & Schuster Audio, HarperAudio, Blackstone Publishing, and Audible Studios. 

SUZANNE ELISE FREEMAN-BRICK is an audiobook narrator with over 400 credits from major publishers including Penguin Random House, Harper, Scholastic, Tantor, Blackstone and Brilliance. She is also passionate about audiobooks - as both a narrator and a fan. Her narrating origin story involves a figurative lightbulb and a literal couch. While listening to an audiobook she realized that her entire career - as a television reporter, writer, actor and reading-as-procrastination expert - had led to an astonishingly obvious conclusion. To Suzanne, narrating is the quintessential mix of performance and literary artistry. A union of her father’s life-long dedication to theater and her mother’s love of reading. In short, the perfect occupation for an introverted extrovert.

TAMARA MARSTON is the Senior Casting Director at Podium Audio, having joined the company in 2016 after casting for BeeAudio for several years. She entered the industry as a narrator and has over 80 titles for Black-stone, Highbridge, Harper Collins, Audible and others, hav-ing garnered an Audiofile Earphones Award and nomina-tions for both Audie and VoiceArts awards along the way. Tamara is a professional performer, stage and musical director, and vocal director for several theaters in the Pacific Northwest. 

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 him-self 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. 

BRAD HILL serves as the Associate Publisher at HarperAudio. Before joining HarperCollins, he held the position of Studio Production Manager at Brilliance Publishing, an Amazon Company. Boasting more than two decades of experience, Brad has dedicated his entire career to the world of audiobooks. Outside of his professional endeavors, he channels his creativity as a music composer for film and media. Brad currently resides south of Nashville, TN, with his wife, three daughters, and two dogs.

JESSICA KAYE is an entertainment and publishing attorney at Kaye & Mills and a Grammy Award-winning audiobook producer and director of hundreds of audiobooks. She serves on the boards of the Audio Publishers Association and the Southern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. Kaye owns Big Happy Family LLC, an audiobook distributor. She is also the author of The Guide to Publishing Audiobooks (WD Books). 

JULIE WILSON is an industry leader in audio storytelling and an award-winning Senior Executive Producer. As the Director of Casting, Strategic Partnerships, and Digital Production Platforms at Penguin Random House Audio, she spearheads the growth of the global talent pool and partners with external companies to advance creativity and efficiency in the publishing industry. Recent production credits include working with Adam Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile, Seth Rogen, and The Tiny Chef. She created the global casting platform for voiceover, Ahab Talent, which increases diverse casting options for creators.

As the CEO of The Articulate Coach, she helps audiobook narrators and thought leaders find their voices and elevate their businesses through improving performance, branding, and networking. She is passionate about building communities and supporting creatives to advance the future of storytelling. Enroll in coaching and courses at TheArticulateCoach.com. 

MELISSA REILLY ELLARD is an accomplished, award-winning producer and director in the audiovisual production industry, with over three decades of experience. Melissa has earned several accolades, including nine Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Children’s Video and the prestigious Odyssey Medal from the American Library Association. As a prominent member of the production team at Weston Woods Studios/Scholastic Audio, Melissa has been instrumental in the continual growth and success of the legendary production studios. It has developed a world-class reputation for creating outstanding audios and films based on children’s books by being faithful to the original works and inspiring children to read.

MICHELE COBB served on the board from 2001, as a director and officer, becoming Executive Director in 2015. She is a partner in Forté Business Consulting, which provides PR, Sales, Marketing, and Business Development services for the publishing industry.

JESSE BICKFORD is the senior producer and a director for Blackstone Publishing, and has been with the company since 2008, after stumbling upon audiobooks rather unexpectedly. A Southern California native she’s been in Oregon since 2004 and loves living in the Pacific Northwest. A lifelong book dragon, Jesse couldn’t ask for a better career than in audiobooks. Her favorite genres are short story anthologies, fantasy novels, middle grade titles, queer literature, and books with a little extra *ahem* spice in them. Jesse also is an audiobook coach under Book Dragon Coaching. When not audiobooking she can be found hanging out with her family and their two unruly yet adorable dogs, the slow-moving tortoise (who moonlights as an accountant). But whatever she’s doing, it’s usually with a book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. 

GINA SMITH is a self-proclaimed marketing guru with over 25 years experience working in the entertainment industry who also happens to dabble in web & graphic design, event planning, and professional organizing. In addition to operating her freelance agency, GLS Entertainment, Gina also runs audiobook narrator, Scott Brick’s, lucrative production company and acts as talent manager for other audiobook narrators. When she's not busy updating someone's website or helping a client chase world domination, she is either traveling the globe or hanging out with her two cats. Or watching a BBC show.