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The Main Idea

I've been officially in wrtier's mode the past few months. I can tell because I looked back over what I've turned in recent weeks. First there was DAUGHTER OF THE PRIDE, sequel to SONS OF THE LION. Set in the expansive Four Horsemen Universe, I was happy to be able to continue Sunshine's story and... Continue Reading →

Cover Reveal Part Deux

The other day I showed off the cover for the upcoming Four Horsemen Universe novel, DAUGHTER OF THE PRIDE. Today I'm showing off the cover for the next anthology I'm in, titled WE DARE -- SEMPER PARATUS. Yes, this is a themed anthology. The last one, WE DARE, focused on augmented humanity and lifeforms. I... Continue Reading →

Cover Reveal

Other than "Release Day", cover reveal days are some of my favorites days. "Release Day" for my upcoming Four Horsemen Universe novel (and sequel to SONS OF THE LION), DAUGHTER OF THE PRIDE, is slated for July 10, 2020. I'm super stoked because not only is the cover art gorgeous, it carries on the story... Continue Reading →

WRAITHKIN Available For Only $0.99

WRAITHKIN, first book in the Kin Wars Saga, is currently available across all platforms for only $0.99. That means not only Amazon, but B&N, iBooks, Nook, etc. Here's a link to Books2ReadNow, which combines all of the sales sites into one place.

Daughter of the Pride

DAUGHTER OF THE PRIDE is finished! Yay! It's just under 100,000 words long and took me 3 months to write (counting my 3 week lost period when I had shingles, so really I wrote this one in 9 weeks). It's a direct sequel to SONS OF THE LION, though takes place roughly 3-6 months later.... Continue Reading →

2020 Helicon Award Winner

Let's be honest -- most authors don't write a book to go out and win awards. We typically write it because we have a story to tell. Anybody who writes a book just to win an award? Well, more power to them, I suppose. I found out today that SONS OF THE LION won the... Continue Reading →

Abgesagt! Canceled! Cancelado?!

FantaSci is canceled. I, like everyone else, am upset but understand the convention staff's response due to the state of emergency being declared by the Governor of North Carolina. It really sucks because of how much fun I had last year, and how long I've been looking forward to this year's edition. However, so far... Continue Reading →

XFL Week 4 — Non-Review

Copyright 2020 XFL No XFL review this week. Sorry. I'm on the home stretch of DAUGHTERS OF THE PRIDE and I don't want to stop. The XFL Review usually takes a few hours to compile because I go through all the games again, write up my thoughts, and compare stats. However, I did finish 2-2... Continue Reading →

FantaSci Schedule

I'm not overly busy this coming FantaSci, which means I have a lot of time to cause shenanigans do things I normally wouldn't have time to do. I actually get to sleep in on Sunday morning which, if you know me, is a huge deal (I'm usually on the earliest panels possible because they love... Continue Reading →

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Wasted Opportunities

I took four years of German in high school, and did fairly well. I still remember reciting "Du bist ein gebildeter affe", which translated to "You are a conceited ape". Never really sure why that was a phrase we were learning. Anyway,  I then went to college and took German 101, since I figured it … Continue reading Wasted Opportunities

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Ratites and Tinamous

The 46 Orders

The TiF Checklist

The checklist can be viewed in two ways. You can either view the annotated checklist on these web pages or download a list. The downloadable lists are Excel csv files that can be imported into spreadsheets such as Excel, or easily manipulated by programs such as perl. Four lists are available in csv format. The ABA list includes only ABA recognized species, but in TiF order, with TiF families. The South American list uses TiF species rather than SACC species.

Further, Stephen Nawrocki has provided an excel version of the worldlist, version 2.79.

You can view an annotated version by clicking on the list of bird orders on the right, or by going to the family index, or by clicking on the family names in the various tree view pages. In the annotated list, recently extinct species and species whose taxonomic placement is particularly uncertain are color-coded. In some cases, superfamilies, subfamilies, tribes, and other groups have been added to help show how the birds are related.

The 46 Orders

The TiF checklist currently groups the birds in 46 Orders and 251 families. Both a order-level and family-level trees are now availalbe in pdf format. Due to its length, the family tree is split into 5 parts.

Click for order-level tree Click for family-level tree
46 Orders 251 Families

The 46 orders of the TiF list include a few more orders than most other lists. However, I wanted to make sure that each of the orders was monophyletic, meaning that they include all descendants of a common ancestor. I did not have confidence that a shorter list would do. As it currently stands, I am highly confident that each order is monophyletic.

Supra-ordinal Groups

I am also highly confident in 12 supraordinal groups (including 4 subgroups) that are supported by Jarvis et al. (2014), Prum et al. (2015), and Suh (2016). Except for Otidimorphae, Eurypygimorphae, and Ardeae, these are also supported by Hackett et al. (2008). Figure 1 in Suh (2016) gives more detail on support for these groups. Not all of the papers include all 46 TiF orders. They are listed below, along with 3 orders that do not belong to any of the groups.

Independent Orders

Higher Phylogeny

The basic problem of higher phylogeny has now been reduced to the appropriate placement of the 8 high order groups and 3 independent orders.

The division into Paleognathae and Neognathe (all other living birds) was first proposed by Pycraft (1900). Sibley, Ahlquist, and Monroe (1988) suggested that the Galloanserae and Paleognathae were basal lineages among the living birds (Neornithes) and united them as Eoaves, with all other birds grouped as Neoaves. Sibley and Ahlquist (1990) recognized that the Paleognathae and Galloanserae were separate branches, and restricted Eoaves to be identical to Paleognathae. Since then, the evidence in favor of this arrangement has only grown stronger. I use Paleognathae and Neognathae as in Pycraft (1900), and Neoaves as in Sibley, Ahlquist, and Monroe (1988). The Galloanserae are included in Neognathae, but excluded from Neoaves.

This leaves us with 6 major supra-ordinal groups and 3 independent orders to classify. Here, we run into a big problem. Jarvis et al. (2014), Prum et al. (2015), and Suh et al. (2015) have given somewhat inconsistent results concerning how these 9 groups relate. Indeed, we have been seeing such inconsistencies for some time. Thus both Brown et al. (2008) and Morgan-Richards et al. (2008) informed us that the Metaves hypothesis was incorrect. However, their own preferred topologies would likely have been rejected by each other's data, and have since fared no better than Metaves.

The Polytomy: The Hoatzin Problem on Steroids

Suh (2016) has argued that these inconsistencies stem from a hard polytomy at the base of Neoaves involving all 9 groups, a polytomy that cannot be satisfactorily resolved with current data and methods of analysis.

In alphabetical order, the nine troublesome taxa are: Ardeae, Charadriiformes, Columbimorphae, Gruiformes, Mirandornithes, Opisthocomiformes, Otidimorphae, Strisores, and Telluraves.

So how should we arrange this hard polytomy? If Suh (2016) is correct, any arrangement will be pretty arbitrary. That's what a hard polytomy means. One way to handle it is to order them from least diverse to most diverse. On the TiF list, this means ordering them by species diversity rather than by diversity of the next lower major group. The reason for this is that the groups between the group we are ordering and species are quite arbitrary. They mean different things in terms of time depth and genetic distance depending on where you are in the tree. Biological species have a greater tie to biological reality than do these other groups, even though that tie is still fairly loose. So I count species in each group at a given level to order them.

If I ordered them by species diversity, the order would be Opisthocomiformes, Mirandornithes, Gruiformes, Otidimorphae, Columbimorphae, Ardeae, Charadriiformes, Strisores, Telluraves.

However, I think we can do a little better. I don't think there's zero information about the polytomy. Indeed, looking at Figure 2 of Suh (2016), it appears that the Columbimorphae (which are probably, but not certainly monophyletic) are closest to the root and the Otidimorphae are probably next. The Strisores may come next. After that, things are murkier. Indeed, these groups often show up near the root of Neoaves in other analyses.

That reduces the problem to 6 taxa: Opisthocomiformes, Mirandornithes, Gruiformes, Ardeae, Charadriiformes, and Telluraves. How should we then order these? I've played around with different arrangements, trying to group waterbirds and landbirds separately, or with other intuititive groupings. In the end, I decided it was better to acknowledge our lack of knowledge.

I've ordered the remaining six taxa by size. In the TiF list, size means number of species. We could use the number of orders, or families, or genera, but I like to use number of species. The reason for this is simple. The number of species is less arbitrary—we have a biological criterion for species status. The other concepts are more arbitrary, and too often reflect the preferences of a particular ornithologist or committee.

What Caused the Polytomy?

The likely cause of the hard polytomy lies with the end-Cretaceous extinction. The scenario is that a single neoavian lineage survived (as did at least one lineage each of Galloanseres and Paleognathae). The single lineage soon evolved into many lineages to cope with the new, post-apocalyptic ecology. The ancestors of the 9 groups diversified too quickly for it to be reflected in the genes (incomplete lineage sorting) and may have also have continued to hybridize. This makes the genetics of the splits difficult or even impossible to sort out. It is certainly beyond what we can do in 2016.

When thinking about the polytomy, you should keep in mind that the ancestors of the nine groups would have orginally been subspecies, fully capable of interbreeding. Eventually they attained full species status, and over time became the orders we know now. There were probably other lineages that didn't survive to the present.

At present we don't know what these ancestral species were like, but they may have been sort of shorebirdy, as in Feduccia's (1999) “transitional shorebirds” hypothesis. Near relatives to all modern birds include taxa such as Ichthyornis and Iaceornis (see, e.g., Longrich et al., 2011). Interestingly, Longrich et al. found fossils of one such relative, which they designate “Ornithurine C”, on both sides of the K/Pg boundary (K/T boundary). Since no representatives of Neoaves were included in the analysis, we cannot say if this taxon was closer to Neoaves than to Galloanserae and Paleognathae.

Further Thoughts on the Polytomy

We now see why the relationships within Neoaves have been so problematic. The Vegavis fossil (Clarke et al., 2005) tells us that the Paleognathae and Galloanserae lineages date separated from the other birds in the Cretaceous. Neoaves seems to owe its orgina to the consequences of the bolide that crashed into Chicxulub at the end of the Cretaceous (66.04 million years ago, see Renne et al., 2013).

The resulting environmental devastation wiped out many species, genera, families, and even orders of living organisms. Even some of those that survived proved unable to thrive in the new world of the Paleogene.

The surviving birds rapidly diversified following the impact, creating problems such as incomplete lineage sorting at supra-ordinal levels within Neoaves. Untangling this has been a protracted process. It is now twenty-five years after Sibley and Ahlquist, and the problem has still not been completely solved. Jarvis et al. (2014) threw a huge amount of data at the problem, three orders of magnitude more depth than Hackett et al. (2008). In spite of all this, Suh (2016) informs us that we are still left with an intractable polytomy in Neoves.

Perhaps new methods and still more data will lead to resolution of the problem, but we shouldn't count on it.

PALEOGNATHAE Pycraft, 1900

Paleognathae tree

The first major division among the living birds is between the Paleognathae and Neognathae, as recognized by Pycraft (1900). The taxonomy of the Paleognathae continues to be controversial. Traditionally, they have been divided into the flightless ratites and the volant tinamous. Some of the earlier generic evidence seemed to support this (e.g., Haddrath and Baker, 2001).

However, the recent studies of Chojnowski et al. (2008), Hackett et al. (2008), Harshman et al. (2008), and Phillips et al. (2010), Faircloth et al. (2012), Haddrath and Baker (2012), J.V. Smith et al. (2013), and Cloutier et al. (2018) have come to a very different conclusion. The ratites are not monophyletic. Some of the them are more closely related to the volant tinamous than to other ratites. In particular, the ostriches are no more closely related to the other ratites than to the tinamous, and the other ratites share a more recent common ancestor with the tinamous than with the ostriches.

Once we get beyond the ostriches, things are not so clear-cut. There are three major groups: (1) rheas, (2) tinamous (and the recently extinct moas), and (3) cassowaries, emus, and kiwis. The three groups seem to have separated over a very short period of time, possibly at the beginning of the Paleogene. The next question is which of the three groups separated first?

Currently, this has not been conclusively resolved. However, it appears that it is either the rheas or the tinamou/moa clade (see J.V. Smith et al., 2013). Many analyses (e.g., Harshman et al., 2008; Phillips et al., 2010; J.V. Smith et al., 2013) favor putting the rheas first. However, when Haddrath and Baker (2012) considered retroposons, the balance shifted to the tinamaou/moa clade, and that is the topology we will follow here. It is also the topology found by Cloutier et al. (2018).

This topology implies that flightlessness has evolved at least 3 times in the Paleognathae: in ostriches, in moas, and at least once among the rheas, emus, cassowaries, and kiwis. Indeed, if the chronogram in Haddrath and Baker (2012) is correct, both the split of the rheas and Austalasian ratites and the split between the kiwis and emus/cassowaries occurred about 80 million years ago (mya). This timing is consistent with the kiwis originating due to the separation of Australia and New Zealand and with the ancestral rheas walking their way across the then-temperate Antarctica to South America.

There is further relevant DNA evidence indicating that the extinct elephant birds of Madagascar are the closest relatives of the kiwis (Mitchell et al., 2014b), with a common ancestor perhaps 50 mya. This is a problem for vicariance theories because Madagascar (and India) likely separated from Gondwana considerably earlier, perhaps 120 mya. In that case, the ancestor of the elephant birds would have had to fly, and we can infer that flight was indpendently lost in the rheas, emu/cassorwary, elephant bird, and kiwi lineages, a total of 6 losses of flight. This is not an unreasonable number. One only has to consider all of the flightless rails to see that.

The fossil evidence considered by Johnston (2011) suggests that the long-extinct Lithornithiformes were close relatives of the tinamous.

The Paleognathae are divided into several orders in recognition of the great antiquity of the various branches, with the ostriches possibly dating back to the Cretaceous period. Phillips et al. (2010) estimate the ostriches diverged from the rest of the Paleognathae about 60-95 mya, while Chojnowski et al. (2008) date this divergence around 64±22 mya, near the K/T (=K/Pg) boundary. Haddrath and Baker (2012) put it at 73-119 mya. Finally, mapping Jarvis et al. (2014) onto the phylogeny used here suggests that the split was about 84 mya (interval 58-96 mya).

The Cassowaries and Emus are much more closely related than the other paleognath groups, and so are placed in a single family: Casuariidae. Although the Moas and Elephant Birds are not part of the main TiF list, a genus-level phylogeny of both is given in the tree diagram. The Moa tree is based on Bunce et al. (2009).

Struthionidae: Ostriches Vigors, 1825

The authors for family-group names are mostly based on Bock (1994), while the authors for order-group names are primarily based on the series by Brodkorb (1963-1978). In both cases, additional sources have been consulted (e.g., Livezey and Zusi (2007)). In a number of cases, I have managed to examine the original (thank you Google Books!). The ICZN does not regulate order-group names. However, for parvorders (-ida), infraorders (-ides), suborders (-i), orders (-iformes), and superorders (-imorphae), I am attempting to follow similar rules. In particular, they are based on priority and the orginal use must been at an ordinal level and must be based on an included genus name (type genus) actually used by that author. The endings have been adjusted to modern usage.

1 genus, 2 species HBW-1

RHEIFORMES Forbes, 1884

Rheidae: Rheas Bonaparte, 1849

1 genus, 2 species HBW-1

The Dromaiidae (Emus) have been merged into the Casuariidae (cassowaries) because the split between them seems fairly recent. The molecular dates in Phillips et al. (2010) and in Haddrath and Baker (2012) already suggested they were so closely related that they could be treated as a single family. More precise dating by Prum et al. (2015) placed the split at about 10 million years ago, too close to even rank them as subfamilies.

Casuariidae: Emus and Cassowaries Kaup, 1847

2 genera, 4 species HBW-1

Heupink et al. (2011) argue that the extinct King Island Emu, Dromaius ater, was quite closely related to the extinct Tasmanian subspecies of the Emu, and is best considered a dwarf subspecies of Dromaius novaehollandiae. The Kangaroo Island Emu, D. baudinianus, seems likely to have been no more different from the Emu than the King Island Emu was, so I am also considering it a subspecies of the Emu, D. novaehollandiae.

The order of the Kiwis reflects the phylogeny in Burbidge et al. (2003) and Shepherd et al. (2012). Burbidge et al. also provide evidence for recognizing 3 extant species of brown kiwi, as is done here. Shepherd et al. found evidence of an extinct northern clade of Little Spotted Kiwi that may deserve recognition as a separate species. The DNA samples of this potential species are from bones of unknown age.

Apterygidae: Kiwis G.R. Gray, 1840

1 genus, 5 species HBW-1

Tinamidae tree

The Tinamiformes are the other branch of the Paleognathae. There is only one family. The taxonomy here is based on Bertelli and Porzecanski (2004) and SACC.

The Tinamidae are sometimes divided into two subfamilies: Rynchotinae and Tinaminae. This is consistent with the phylogeny shown, although there is some uncertainty about whether Nothocercus really groups with Tinamus and Crypturellus.

Hayes et al. (2018) showed that there is no reason to consider the Chaco Nothura, Nothura chacoensis, distinct from the Spotted Nothura, Nothura maculosa. As a result, I now consider the Chaco Nothura to be a subspecies of the Spotted Nothura, Nothura maculosa.

Tinamidae: Tinamous G.R. Gray, 1840

9 genera, 46 species HBW-1

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Who Wants to Be a Voice Talent?

Recently, I’ve received e-mail from a number of folks who are checking out the prospect of becoming a voice-over talent. They ask me questions about how I got started; what I did to become successful; and what a typical day looks like for me. I openly let them know that it’s hard work and encourage them to give the idea some careful consideration before taking the plunge. My 1000-foot level response looks something like this:

Self Examination

There are a number of “things” to consider before diving into a voice-over business and it will be important for you to think about each one.

  • Are you willing to make very little money the first two or three years in the business?
  • Are you open to working a “day job” while you’re developing your ability and establishing your client list?
  • Do you have the skills to set up and maintain accounting, taxes, insurance and marketing that a small business requires?
  • Do you like your voice and all the uniqueness it possess?
  • Can you read clearly and are you willing to take direction?
  • Do you have a thick skin and can you keep from obsessing about every audition you send out?

What’s Next?

After doing some honest reflection and answering the above questions truthfully, you may still be interested in the business of voice-over. The next step it to get started with training from a reputable coach. A good coach will tell you during your first session whether you’ve got the chops for VO or not. Next they’ll help you identify your signature voice and find genres that fit your voice and delivery. When you’re ready, many will also direct and produce your demo.

Take some acting classes, improv is best. Practice cold reading anything you can get your hands on. While voice-over talent get to rely on scripts, you have to act the part. You need to deliver the lines in a convincing way so that they don’t sound read. You need to sound like you know what you’re talking about even when you don’t.

Get you demo(s) produced and website created to feature your abilities. Your first impression to talent seekers is super important. Take your time getting the training you need before your demo is produced. Hopefully you will have found a coach that isn’t part of a production mill and can truthfully tell you when you’re ready. Your website acts as your storefront with demos, details and contact information. Do not start to look for work without either of these.

Where will you record your broadcast quality audio? In your very own home studio of corse. You’ll need a quiet area to call your own, a mic, computer and software. Plus, the know-how to connect all these goodies and record your dulcet tones. Outside noises, distractions from family, pets and friends need to be removed.

You Gotta Work

Go out and look for work. Since you’ll be owning a business, it will be up to you to get clients on your own. Whether that means signing up with Voices.com or Voice123.com; leveraging your existing business contacts, family and friends or cold calling businesses…it’s up to you. You’ll find the most success in using a combination of the above.

Agents will not get you work. Agents will line up auditions for you. That’s it. If you book a gig from an agent arranged audition, you’ll pay her or him 10%. Yes, the agent will have access to the big money gigs but will only be interested in representing you once you’ve proven yourself independently. They’ll look at you and say, “What are you bringing to my talent stable?”

During an industry teleconference with the talented and respected voice actor Randye Kaye, she said that about 10% of full-time professional VO peeps are in the SAG or AFTRA unions. You’ll be more flexible to stay nonunion at the start. You’ll know when it’s time to join a union, a client will want to hire you and only works with union talent. That’s the day you’ll be signing up.

Plan Your Day

My schedule is much the same from day to day. It’s flexible enough for me to schedule sessions. When not “working” my time is spent auditioning and marketing.

  • Check e-mail from overnight and respond
  • Add appointments to my calendar
  • Practice for 90 minutes reading copy, recording my takes and analyzing my delivery. We are, after all, our own worst critic.
  • Audition 4 hours
  • Lunch
  • Marketing 3 hours
  • Virtually socialize with my vo peeps (twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, blog, other…)

I wake at 6:00 a.m. Pacific time and leave my studio to have dinner with my family by 6:00 p.m. If necessary, I work weekends and get up early when the east coast is calling for me to complete an early morning gig.

So, there you go. A little sporadic but it covers a lot of ground. This is what comes to mind every time I answer the question. I’m sure you have your own 1000-foot-level of what it takes in this business. What would you add?

31 thoughts on “Who Wants to Be a Voice Talent?

  1. Nikki August 3, 2011 / 11:01 am

    I think you answered that question with a lot of thought and more important wisdom.
    I think anything a person is thinking about doing needs to research it first before jump
    in to it once again thanks for that wonderful wisdom
    Thank you very much Nikki

    • JCDunn August 3, 2011 / 5:34 pm

      Nikki- Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog post. I know exactly what you’re saying. I don’t want anybody disappointed by their uninformed decisions. Yes, vo is fun. No, you are not going to make a lot of money right off the start. But, if it’s what you want and you’re passionate about being a voice talent, by all means… go for it! -JCD

  2. Leslie Diamond August 3, 2011 / 1:40 pm

    Pretty accurate and very close to my own schedule; I start at 6:30 and I’ve got exercise schedules from 7-8 am.

    • JCDunn August 3, 2011 / 5:36 pm

      Leslie- Exercise? I knew I was missing something. 🙂 I bow to your extra energy. -JCD

  3. Arlene Tannis August 4, 2011 / 6:19 am

    That schedule sounds like mine, too. I try to get the exercise in like Leslie, too… helps with my breathing control and lung capacity. I tend to work later into the evening when I have a swim aerobics class. When people occasionally say to me “I haven’t seen you lately… where have you been?” I tell them I have a business to run… and if I’m having a good week, hardly anyone will see me. Marketing, invoicing, organizing, networking…. that’s 80% of the work right there. SO much more than voice. Though radio has been laying off people left and right, not every producer and voice talent can do this …. it’s like any other profession… what you put into it you get out of it.

    • JCDunn August 4, 2011 / 10:33 am

      I agree. The maintenance of my business outweighs the voice work significantly. I know of a few vo peeps who have been in the business for over 25-years and they are still hitting the street looking for work. Times are tough but the work is there, you just have to LOOK FOR IT.

  4. John Miles August 4, 2011 / 7:30 am

    Some very useful information. Under “You Gotta Work,” you reminded me of the occasional email I’ll get from a new VO talent asking about how to land jobs, especially when you’re first starting out. I have found Googling for media production companies and those who might need voice overs, then emailing a very brief introduction with a link to my online demos, to be the most effective way for me to obtain work. I’m not a big fan of cold calling-folks are busy and you’re interrupting their day. To me, email introduction wins the day with that all important link to your demos.

    • JCDunn August 4, 2011 / 10:41 am

      Thank you for reading my post and I’m happy you were able to get something out of it. The school of thought on contacting production companies is somewhat split. There are those who suggest to contact producers and agencies by phone first to ask if they are open to receiving demos. Then there are those like you, which to be honest, I’ve not tried and will be giving it some consideration. However, I recommend doing what works. In any case, online demos are a must and necessary to showcase ability.

  5. Great overview – with honesty! Thanks. It’s very helpful for those of us just entering the field. Could you share what groups you think are valuable to be a part of in social media? Thank you.

  6. zach irwin August 5, 2011 / 7:55 am

    I would add energy to anything I would read, voice over, or say extemporaneously.

    • JCDunn August 5, 2011 / 3:07 pm

      Zach- That’s interesting. Care to expand a bit? 🙂

  7. mike ortego August 5, 2011 / 12:38 pm

    Just curious as to your approach to marketing yourself…I noted in previous posts the school of thought about contacting production houses and other potential partners. What is your emphasis on to date?

    • JCDunn August 5, 2011 / 2:58 pm

      Mike- My marketing push is a combination of cold calls to businesses, service reminders to prospective clients and clients I’ve already partnered with. I’m also contacting friends and relatives with a short e-mail that calls out some of the successes I’ve had the past year. These are folks who aren’t aware or have forgotten what I do for a living. My goal is two cold calls per day, three personalized service reminders, two e-mails to friends and families.

      Before the summer started, I hired ArtistUpgrade to design two websites for me, one for commercial or short form work, the other for narration an long form. I’m leveraging the focus of each site in my marketing to prospective clients.

      Start local and then expand your reach. Voice Actor Mandy Nelson wrote a great article called, “The Newest VO Opp Is Right In Your Town: Internet Marketing” http://www.voiceoverxtra.com/article.htm?id=4sxx6d1r. This will get you thinking about your local turf a bit differently.

      Thanks for stopping by!

  8. Steve Gimbert August 6, 2011 / 7:24 am

    When I first logged on 123 I was overwhelmed. I think the first thing I did was drop to my knees and thank God I didn’t have to try to do this for a living! I think the PGA tour is a good metaphor!

    • JCDunn August 6, 2011 / 7:58 am

      Given the choice, I’d rather be a voiceoverist than a golfer. My drives are horrible, my putts are either wimpy or overpowered and I strongly dislike cleaning my cleats! 😉

  9. Rick Lance August 6, 2011 / 11:40 am

    J. Nice, direct, chronological “in a nutshell” information for the newcomer or inquirer!
    Hope you don’t mind me passing this along when I get my next inquiry.

    • JCDunn August 6, 2011 / 11:47 am

      Yes. By all means, pass it along at will! Glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂

  10. Paul Strikwerda August 6, 2011 / 12:07 pm

    In order to reach a goal in any context, you need at least six things (apart from talent and skills):

    1. A plan
    2. Passion
    3. Persistance
    4. Patience
    5. Business acumen
    6. A financial cushion

    It took Bob Souer 26 years before he finally gave up his day job and became a full-time voice-over. He recently told “That Voiceover Podcast”:

    “I don’t know anybody who’s in voice-over who’s a.) starting in voice-over and b.) making a good living at it, unless they’re already really established as a performer in some other way.”

    Christopher is absolutely right: if you’re just starting out, do not give up your day job.
    Here’s the rub though: it’s unreasonable to expect full-time results from doing this part-time.

    If you want job security, this is not for you.
    If you expect an agent, a coach or a voice casting site to get you work, this is not for you.
    If you expect seasoned pros to do your homework, this is not for you.
    If you’re not prepared to invest thousands of dollars, this is not for you.
    If you don’t know whether or not your demo is good enough, you’re not ready.
    If you don’t know what to charge and believe that $50 is good money for 2 hours of work, you’re not ready.
    If all of this is news to you…. you should ask yourself the following question:

    “Am I only interested, or am I committed?”

    Being interested is fine for a hobby, but it is no basis for a professional career.

    • JCDunn August 6, 2011 / 12:13 pm

      I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for stopping by, Paul!

  11. VOplanet VoiceCasting August 6, 2011 / 3:39 pm

    Fabulous answers! Of course I get asked his multiple times a day and these answers will be a great help to me. May I have permission to repost this to the VOplanet social sites, JC?

    • JCDunn August 7, 2011 / 6:57 am

      Please, feel free to repost this blog on VOplanet. That would be super cool!

      Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

  12. Winnie english August 10, 2011 / 12:52 pm

    Someone asks you that question and the next thing you know you’re talking for an HOUR

    • JCDunn August 10, 2011 / 1:07 pm

      Not anymore. Now, I just send them to my blog. Typically, they do not have follow up questions and seem satisfied with my answer.

  13. Samantha August 16, 2011 / 9:49 am

    Awesome insight, thank you for sharing!
    I am a French VO talent living in the U.S. and I feel that what you describe is absolutely accurate, maybe even x10 for me because of my accent.
    Again, thank you for your post.

    • JCDunn August 16, 2011 / 10:41 am

      You’re welcome and thanks for stoping by to read my blog. The uniqueness of your voice may be the aspect to leverage when marketing your VO services. It’s the one thing, out of many I’m sure, that makes you sound different from all the other vo peeps. 🙂

  14. Kym Dakin September 8, 2011 / 5:49 am

    Hey J;

    I particularly loved the break down of what you do each day. As a mom, a day-jobber, and an Audie-winner, I struggle with keeping a consistent schedule. This blog has been inspirational and I’m curious about how others break down their day…. Thanks!

    • JCDunn September 8, 2011 / 3:19 pm

      Hi Kym-

      I would venture a guess that everybody’s day is structured uniquely. It took some trial and error to figure out what activities I do best during a particular part of my day cycle. Being flexible is key because I never know when a gig, audition request or quote request will land in my inbox.

      I’m glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂

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How to Navigate our site

Looking for our contact list or our history? Click on the = on this page.

You can also find information about the JNA on Neighborhood Link. Enter

Put in 78201 and click on Jefferson Neighborhood Association.

Additional Information

 If your non-profit organization has an event that might be of interest to JNA members please e-mail the details to Stanley Waghalter, by the 20th of the prior month.

Contact Marie Cooper ( for ad rates.

Long time JNA member Chuck Whitehead passed away Monday,

May 11th.

Our sincere condolences go out to Becky.

May Newsletter available

The May JNA Newsletter has been published. You must be a dues paying member to receive the newsletter via snail mail. If you desire, the newsletter can be emailed to you.

You can join our group by paying $10 a year for one person, or $15 for a family. Our mailing address: PO Box 28552, SATX 78228.

Our June 8th meeting MIGHT be held. We'll let you know.

The May 11th JNA meeting has been cancelled. Our next meeting is scheduled for June 8th.

Stay tuned!


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SXSW Recap

By March 18, 2006December 3rd, 2011No Comments
Reading time: 8 minutes

Whew I am finally back from a long week down in beautiful Austin, Texas. The weather there was perfect and I stepped off the plane into 25 degree Cleveland weather this morning. Brr. Overall the trip was great. We made lots of contacts, rid ourselves of about 700 posters, about 1000 flyers and another 1000 business cards. Here’s a quick rundown of each day as I can remember:

Day One:

Monday we arrived in Texas at around 3 something PM. Our flight was delayed for almost two hours and we had to fly around a storm which extended our flight about 2 more hours. And by the time we found our hotel and grabbed lunch at the Iron Cactus, badge registration for SXSW was already over. So we just drove downtown later that night in our rental car and explored the territory.

Day Two:

Tuesday we arrived at the Convention Center at around 10 AM and picked up our $900 Platinum Badges that Bill and I each preordered beforhand. That stuff is expensive, but we were planning on hitting up every Trade Show and needed access to everything to get the most out of our trip.

convention center

We sat in on a few panels featuring some people blabbing about the internet’s future and some new ways of digital advertising. It was all interesting, but we were really just looking to meet people we could potentially do work for. In one panel, we met a cool guy who does websites for Honda and other notable clients. I made a comment in the Q&A about viral videos and the Bittorrent Song and people dug the question. I had a few people come up to me afterwards and tell me that. Weird haha, but we got to chit chat and exchange biz cards and all that fun stuff.

We made our way around the Trade Show for Film and Interactive and met a lot of other business who, really in all honesty were not looking for design firms like us to come to them. They were other companies offering services to the filmmakers just like we were trying to do. So needless to say, we didn’t really accomplish much there. We handed out cards and flyers to lots of people, but we’ll be lucky if anyone calls us.

go media posters

We also spent a lot of time sticking up posters all over 5th and 6th street. The two main hostspots for SXSW. After a few posters, we were greeted by a cop telling us we weren’t allowed to put posters or flyers up. Well, every single lightpost was covered in a mass of flyers anyway, but this cop decided that we would crack down on Go Media this time. Lame. But he was really laid back and didn’t assault us or anything.

We posted flyers and hung posters all over the place inside the convention center though. We saw quite a few people picking up the posters from a stack we laid out and grabbing postcards. It was really a hot item. We saw lots of people with our poster walking around.

go media flyers

Later that night was the SXSW Film Awards. We were planning on seeing some films and needed to know which ones to see. We watched the awards, listened to thank yous and clapped our hands for awhile. And then chatted with some award winners and we gave out flyers and postcards to our new friends.

Later that night was the Award Show After Party. We showed up about 2 hours into the party. And we found Alison Sie, the lead actress we had talked to from the Awards Show. Her film Americanese won for best Narrative Feature with an honor in Ensemble Performance and also an Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. We talked for a while and really hit it off well. She introduced us to Eun-hee Cho who directed the South Korean film Inner Circle Line which won an award for Best Narrative feature with an honor in Visual Achievement.

We all chatted like friends and they all were really nice and cool. Hopefully we can do some work for these amazing filmmakers.

Day Three:

We checked out the films Americanese and Doug Pray’s Infamy. Americanese was a beautifully filmed love story about an Asian Man and an American Asian woman. They were together but seperated and were having a hard time letting go and had to endure the tempations and agony of other lovers while still being attached to eachother. It was really a fine piece of work.

Infamy was probably my favorite film of the festival. Doug Pray was probably most remembered by his documentary Scratch about hip hop DJ’s and turntablism. And this one was all about graffiti artists. The music was awesome and the editing and pace of the film totally seemed to fit the style of graffiti itself and took you into their world. The 7 characters were really something to remember. We talked with the Producer and also with Doug about possibly revamping their current website. They seemed to really dig what we could do. So we are stoked about that and hopefully we can work for their film.

We were supposed to see a screening of Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly but we were unable to make it in time to get in. I heard he was supposed to be there, but I later found out he never came. Oh well. So we headed back to the Convention Center to catch the Beastie Boys for an audience Q&A. They pretty much joked their way through answering questions and it was pretty much a waste of time. They also were rumored to have played a “secret show” that night at the Fox and Houd. We missed it though, bummer.

That night we headed over to Antone’s to watch K-OS, one of my favorite Hip Hop acts. We got there in time to see Beth Orton, a reccomendation by Bill and she was pretty good. A Sheryl Crow type singer. K-OS finally went on about 1AM after multiple delays in setting up. The band really was great, but the frontman really “phoned in his performace” as Bill said. He wasn’t with it at all. Didn’t care and was a bit rude to the crowd. And I was dissapointed, no bboy battles broke out except for a small little circle with two dudes rockin it. But nothing special.

Day Four

By Thursday we were really exhausted. Our legs were killing us. We were walking pretty much non stop every day for hours. And when we weren’t walking, we were standing and talking or watching a show. We hit up the Music Trade Show and talked with our good friends and partners at Jakprints. They had posters of ours they were giving away as well. Such cool guys they are.

We made our way around a bit talking it up with some neat companies. Making some new friends and contacts. But we only got about a third of the way through it before it closed for the day. We heard Lady Sovereign (a favorite of Bill’s) was performing at 7:30 PM and we hiked it across town to a venue called The Victory Grill. It was basically a hole in the wall and really hot and cramped inside. I was supposed to be at Maggie Mae’s at 8:00 PM to catch MC Lars whom I had ran into the day before at the Convention Center. I didn’t want to dissapoint him by not showing up. So I had to leave before Lady Sovereign got to play.

After the Lars show, Bill called me from the Victory Grill and told me that Lady Sovereign never got to come out due the entire time he was there due to audio problems. He was pretty pissed as were lots of others. Lars was cool, he’s gonna send me that CD Single I designed for him that he’s selling in the UK. He had a good turnout for his show which featured just him selecting songs on his laptop and rocking out to them.

We had to catch a cab over to the Dobie to see the film Inner Circle Line. It was a very etherial visual experience. It was about love, loss, tradgedy, etc. It was pretty stylistic and at times felt drawn out and overly arty. But that was the way it was meant to be. The dialogue between characters was sparse and was not natural. There were really long pauses between natural responses, but that was by design. Lots of props to Miss Cho for her directorial debut film. She deserved her award.

Day Five:

Our last day at SXSW. We hit up the rest of the Music Trade Show and made some good contacts. Nothing too notable though. Just some other businesses we could potentially work with. And we also checked out Flatstock and saw some really awesome and inspirational poster art. We posted the last bit of our flyers and posters everywhere we could, even though our legs and feet were throbbing and sore. We didn’t see any films today but we saw a few cool shows. The Loved Ones played a good set at Redrum and one of my favorites Tilly and the Wall played a great show at Latitude 30. The crowd was insane and it was quite an experience. We had the famous Hoeck Pizza aka “Death Metal Pizza” and at Stubbs BBQ. All great food.

Stubbs BBQ

All in all we were greatly impressed with the entire city of Austin. I would love to go again another time. But for now, I need to take a breather and relax this weekend. I am totally beat and am happy to be back home with Kim. She missed me so much and we talked every night while I was there. We had one really bad cab driver who was practically falling asleep a the wheel and we had to remind him numerous times where to go. He was so weird! And we made a lot of new friends and this experience is something I’ll never forget. I took pics, but not as many as I would have liked. It’s too inconvenient. Check out the pictures here.

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Pinboards by Shannon Lamden on Flickr

Twitter is for now and Facebook’s for yesterday – but you can see the future on Pinterest. From recipes, wishlists and wedding plans to visualisations of new romantic partners and dream homes, this virtual pinboard has it all.

In a neurotic, self-obsessed, keeping up with the Joneses world, what could be better than a social network that defines not so much who you are, but who you want to be?

Pinterest’s 70 million users (“pinners”) share what they want, not what they own. For a generation where identity is built around shared ideas and experiences, Pinterest could be the de facto social network.

“Pinterest is a search engine, first and foremost” says Sarah Bush, Pinterest’s UK country lead. Pinterest wants to take on Google – by being a social discovery engine where images are curated by other people. A Google search for “red dress” (for example) will serve up a selection of sponsored links under the “shopping” tab – Pinterest gives you a range of styles selected and commented on by fellow users.

Not surprisingly, Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ combined. And traffic is converting, because pinners tend to use the site when they are actively looking for new products.

Pinterest is a valuable predictor of consumer behaviour. And brands are fast picking up on this prodigious display of buyer intent. Last Christmas, ASOS was the top UK brand on Pinterest, generating 1,728 shares a week. Its most popular board, ASOS <3s Beauty, has nearly 107,000 followers. Retailer L.L. Bean takes a slightly different tack, with boards specifically targeting holiday season gift buyers: Great Gifts For Guys currently has 75,000 fans.

For marketers in sectors where images have universal appeal, Pinterest is a no brainer. Take travel: Lonely Planet’s Beautiful World has notched up 102,000 followers. Or food: Whole Foods Market was one of the first FMCG brands on Pinterest; its ever-popular Sweet Tooth board holds the attention of 151,000 users.

Meanwhile, under the radar, private boards increasingly popular. London-based poet Karen McCarthy Woolf loves using Pinterest for positive, future-focused thinking: “It’s absolutely brilliant for any form of creative visualisation. There’s something magical in gathering the images together,” she says.

“Looking back at my boards, it’s amazing how much of what I pinned has come to pass. I did a lot on health, beauty and life balance, and I’m a lot closer to that picture of Beyonce I pinned up than I was when I started! As an author, I also use Pinterest as a thematic mood board, to curate and collect ideas.”

The use of Pinterest as a visualisation tool caused Californian life coaches Gina DeVee and Rose Cole to set up a course training people to use the network for “manifesting…an abundant, happy, joy-filled, healthy lifestyle”.

“I fell in love for the first time in 10 years,” says a friend who did the course. “It was incredible. The private board I set up wasn’t just about finding a partner, it was very much about the whole life journey, the emotions I would feel. Adding to Pinterest every day was a great way of focusing: it tunes your brain to what you really want.”

Does Pinterest tell us what we really, really want? Maybe that’s why boards such as Nordstrom’s Our Favourite Things (4.2 million fans), L.L.Bean’s Woodland Creatures (4.5 million fans) or Etsy’s Cool Spaces (332,000 fans) top the charts in terms of brand engagement. Rather than hard sell, these boards select images from around the web, connecting with pinners’ ideas, emotions or trains of thought. These brands are tuning into the real reason people use Pinterest: as an aspirational showcase and discovery engine.

With a $5 billion valuation earlier this year, Pinterest is fast becoming a leading player of the visual web. I can see the future, and it’s got Pinterest written all over it.

Karen McCarthy Woolf’s poetry collection An Aviary of Small Birds is published this month. Follow her on Twitter.

Photo: Shannon Lamden


text: Do not underestimate the power dehydration has to reek havoc on your body.Do you consume at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces each & every day of 💧?If the answer is no & you suffer from panic/anxiety attacks this may be contributing to your altered internal environment & mood, leaving you feeling jittery, panicked, scared, confused.I find it helpful to carry with me everywhere I go a 20+ ounce bottle of 💧 to drink to minimize possibility of being dehydrated. A little effort can make a big impact.


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Christmas Mini Sessions 2018- Jess Evans Photography

Ahhhhh Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year. Full of fun, laughter, family, memories and cozy days in front of the TV, watching your favourite Christmas film. Christmas has such a different meaning when you have Children doesn’t it? Its like magic all over again. I live for Christmas morning, when you see your child’s face light up as they walk into the living room, and witness all of their little dreams coming true. Its such a wonderful feeling. And Christmas truly isn’t about the presents. Its about the presence. The memories we make will stay with us forever- and photographs are a wonderful way for time to stand still, in that perfect moment.

I know, its November. But who says Christmas has to be restricted to December? Cozy up and join me for some beautiful memories. Perfect for your baby’s who are celebrating their very first Christmas, or just as a lovely keepsake of your little ones, to add to the Christmas album! Dress them up in a smart christmas outfit, go all out with a fun christmas jumper, or snuggle up in some christmas pjs! For babies ages 5-12 months, I have the most beautiful outfits for you to borrow too- one of which is pictured on Ettie in the images below!

The boring bit:
Session fee of £45 is payable upon booking, and in return you will receive 3 high-resolution digital images sent via digital download, along with a print release form for you to use as you desire. Sessions will take place at my home studio in Poole, Dorset.

Dates currently available: Friday 23rd November & Saturday 24th November.

To book, please contact me today and secure your time slot! For the quickest response time, please visit my facebook page and send me a message on there:

*These sessions are limited to two children, as the setup is smaller than usual. If you would like to include more than 2 children in the session, please send me a message and we can arrange something to suit your family. Siblings only please!*


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Delusions of Grandeur

Greetings people of the Internet.

We are Christopher Allan Smith and Harrison Smith, a father and son nerd team setting out on a project of ridiculous ambition. To create an entertaining, thrilling, emotional, action packed and memorable novel.

Yes yes fine, you may say. People write novels every day. Big deal.

To this we say: What’s with the attitude? We just met. Come on. Nobody wants a fight here friend.

To this we also say: You’re 100-percent right. But here, before we even put a word to paper, we’re outlining our goal: To create a story with characters so real and meaningful, with a plot so grabbing and relatable, with a conclusion so emotional and satisfying that our story will rank up there with the classics of nerddom. We want to create something people will love forever, and will last long after we’re gone.

When we’re finished, we want our story to rest proudly along side STAR WARS, SHERLOCK HOLMES, ROBIN HOOD, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, HARRY POTTER,and…, well, that’s probably shooting high enough.

They say write what you know. Well, we’re two pretty big nerds. Proud and out nerds. What we know is geek culture, nerd lore and the pleasure of sitting down to a book, movie, TV show or graphic novel that send waves of coolness right to our nerdy cores.

With this blog we’re going to report on our journey and hopefully garner some readers for our mad task. We’ll post chapter snippets, inspirations, opinions and fears. We’ll be asking questions, taking feedback, talking about geeky things totally unrelated to the project. And hopefully lighting a fire under a few people who need a little push to attempt something insanely great.

When Stage 1 is finished, we’ll have the whole book here. When the entire plan has run it’s course, we’ll have an entire series from beginning to end, and our victory will be complete. Except probably the ‘It’s a classic of the ages’ part, but we can dream.

Here’s where we start from: Chris is a 40-year-old geek from way back. He can remember seeing STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE at a drive in movie theater. And a theater in the mall. And a big dome. He saw that damned movie a lot. He’s got a degree in journalism (so he can write a bit). His day job is as a video producer/director. He’ll be doing most of the prose at the start.

Harrison is an 11-year old nerdling who has already become a talented writer himself. His course was set when his father showed him a STAR WARS movie at too tender an age. He never had a chance. Now he’s our resident expert on coming of age stories, HARRY POTTER being a significant favorite. It’s usually playing on audiobook in the background while Harrison designs space ships out of Legos. (Yes we know the official plural is Lego. We will ignore emails on this subject). We’ll be uploading pictures of his designs, and basing eventual concept art on his creations. He’s a major HUNGER GAMES fan as well.

So that’s about it.

Oh, one last thing you’ve probably already guessed. Right now, the story is called “The Adventures of Jet Jergens.”

5 thoughts on “Delusions of Grandeur

  1. Goos luck. Gonna be following you guys on thid worthy (and chunky) ende… en… undertaking. Its too early in the morning for spell checking.

  2. Came across this post today and I am really intrigued. I will be paying attention to updates here and have also added you to my Twitter feed.

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• ISO - Logo
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  • Awards & Certifications assuring the highest level of medical and service quality.

Whooping Cough (Pertussis)

What is whooping cough (pertussis)?/h5>

Whooping cough, or pertussis, mainly affects infants and young children. Caused by a bacterium, it is characterized by paroxysms (intense fits or spells) of coughing that end with the characteristic whoop as air is inhaled. Whooping cough caused thousands of deaths in the 1930s and 1940s, but, with the advent of a vaccine, the rate of death has declined dramatically. Even though pertussis vaccines are very effective, if pertussis is circulating in the community, there is a possibility that a fully vaccinated person can catch the disease.

What are the symptoms of whooping cough?

The disease starts like the common cold, with a runny nose or congestion, sneezing, and sometimes a mild cough or fever. Usually after one to two weeks, severe coughing begins. The following are the most common symptoms of whooping cough. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:

•    coughing (violently and rapidly, until all the air has left the lungs and a person is forced to inhale, causing a “whooping” sound

•    sneezing

•    nasal discharge

•    fever

•    sore, watery eyes

•    whooping

•    lips, tongue, and nailbeds may turn blue during coughing spells

Whooping cough can last up to 10 weeks and can lead to pneumonia.

The symptoms of whooping cough may resemble other medical conditions. Always consult your physician for a diagnosis.

Treatment for whooping cough:

Specific treatment for whooping cough will be determined by your physician based on:

•    your overall health and medical history

•    extent of the condition

•    your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies

•    expectations for the course of the condition

•    your opinion or preference


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Programs : Brochure

This page is the brochure for your selected program. You can view the provided information for this program on this page and click on the available buttons for additional options.
  • Locations: Arusha, Tanzania
  • Program Terms: Summer
  • Homepage: Click to visit
  • Program Sponsor: World Endeavors
  • This program is currently not accepting applications.
Dates / Deadlines:

There are currently no active application cycles for this program.
Fact Sheet:
Fact Sheet:
GPA Requirement: 3.0 Housing Type: Guest House
Language of Instruction: English Program Type: Third-party provider, World Endeavors
Credit Type: No Credit Language Prerequisite: No
Hopkins Application Fee: $25 Application Process: (1) Complete Hopkins app by clicking "Apply Now", (2) Go to program website to complete program app (note deadline may be different)
Program Description:
World Endeavors logo Programs About Us
Volunteer Abroad in Tanzania

Why Tanzania?
Tanzania is the Africa that many dream of. Home to the towering snow-capped peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the wildebeests and gazelles of the Serengeti, and the legendary spices of Zanzibar, it’s no wonder that Tanzania has captured the imaginations of many. Although it is a rising star on the tourist map, Tanzania is still a predominantly rural and agricultural society, and it has struggled to improve basic infrastructure and educational and healthcare systems. World Endeavors volunteers in Tanzania make a difference in the lives of the Tanzanian people through hard work and a commitment to promoting a brighter future for this extraordinary country.
Program Information**
Live in Arusha, Tanzania
The city of Arusha is located in mountainous northern Tanzania, right under Mount Meru. Once a backwater and center of colonial administration, Arusha is now a thriving city and a popular starting point for trips to Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater, and Mount Kilimanjaro. It’s also an important diplomatic center, as the East African Community of Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda is headquartered here. Coffee, wheat, and maize are grown in the nearby countryside and can be found for sale in the city’s busy marketplace. On their time off, volunteers can sample the city’s varied restaurants, offering Tanzanian, Ethiopian, Western, Indian, and Chinese food; and on weekends, it’s easy venture out to explore the area’s natural wonders or take a trip to the storied island city of Zanzibar.
We offer volunteer placements in Tanzania in the following fields:
Program Snapshot

Housing: World Endeavors volunteers in Tanzania stay in a volunteer house during their programs. Volunteers share common space with fellow volunteers from around the world. Typically, rooms will be shared with others of the same gender but single rooms may be possible.  Housing accommodations are modest, safe, and clean, but may differ from Western norms in terms of space or amenities.

Dates: The volunteer program in Tanzania is flexible in duration. Admissions are rolling, and programs can begin on any Monday throughout the year.

Duration: Participants can choose any duration between 2 and 12 weeks.

Cost: See our website for program fee information

How to Apply: Our application deadlines are set at 12 weeks prior to your desired program start date. Visit our website at to start your application.

**Always check our website for the most up-to-date program information.

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Change Your World - World Endeavors
Contact Us:

3015 E Franklin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55406
(866) 802.9678 | (612) 729.3400

There is a dual application process for this program:

(1) Students must complete the Hopkins application by clicking on the green "Apply Now" button
(2) Students must complete the program application, which you can access on the program website. Please make sure to abide by both the Hopkins and the program deadlines as they may be different.

APP FEE NOTE: Hopkins students do not need to pay the World Endeavors application fee. Complete the online application through the second page and then click 'Save & Exit'. This will bring the application to the attention of a World Endeavors advisor, who will reach out to you via email by the end of the next business day to collect additional information.

This program is currently not accepting applications.


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Overwhelmed by the Complexity of Guides? This May Help

A Guide on CT Exams

Proper preparation is much required if you are considering be certified in CT exams. The essential thing to be approved in the CT exam is to succeed well. It is good to have ample time for preparing for the CT exams if you want to make it in this course. In most instances, the CT exams are quite hard it will require one to study in advance to make it in the tests. It is through creating a point of getting into reliable sources where you can review more details concerning CT exams. The internet comes in handy if you are looking for information and details in preparing for the CT tests.

Taking time to browse online will help one find sufficient study materials for the CT exams. Accessing the study material online will require one to have internet bundles as well as desktops. Passing the CT exams are possible if the learner takes time to read out this content. Preparing well is the best way to help one make it to the certification in CT course. Many learners do not make it to the pass mark since they fail to prepare well. It is through reviewing the practical test via credible sources that the learners can qualify for the CT exams.

The internet is essential if you intend to get the format and wording on the kind of CT queries on the tests. If one consider examining the queries on the CT tests it helps the learners make it in the Ct course. It is through taking the practical test via the internet that students can have an overview on how the test is broken down plus the layout of the tests. The sample questions and their answers are also available online for students to get a clue. Taking time for the online research is the best way to get in touch with the queries and solution concerning the CT practical tests.

Proper preparations for the CT practical test make one answer to the questions with ease. It is upon attaining seventy-five marks on the test that the CT learners are termed restricted. Proper preparations with sufficient materials for the study process are essential to help one reach the pass mark. Planning in advance for the CT functional tests is achievable if you browse via the internet. You will be able to get ample information how to answer CT tests in case you click on the CT study guide. One need to purchase study content to make adequate preparations for the CT practical tests.


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Ilaria Cimmino, Francesco Oriente, Vittoria D’Esposito, Domenico Liguoro, Pasquale Liguoro, Maria Rosaria Ambrosio, Serena Cabaro, Francesco D’Andrea, Francesco Beguinot, Pietro Formisano and Rossella Valentino

The dramatic rise in obesity and metabolic syndrome can be related, at least in part, to environmental chemical factors such as Bisphenol-A (BPA). In this study, we aimed to understand the effects of low-dose Bisphenol-A on the human mature adipocytes and stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells, obtained from subcutaneous mammary adipose tissue of overweight female patients, undergoing surgical mammary reduction. 24 and/or 48-h exposure to BPA 0.1 nM elicited significant increase of the inflammatory molecules interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), monocyte chemo-attractant protein 1α (MCP1α) and induced G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 30 (GPR30) levels more than two-fold both in mature adipocytes and SVF cells. These effects were similar to that obtained in the presence of GPR30-specific agonist G1 (100 nM) and were reverted by G15 (1 µM), a GPR30-selective antagonist. As a result of BPA-GPR30 signaling activation, fatty acid synthase (FAS) and leptin mRNA levels were significantly higher upon BPA exposure (P < 0.05) in mature adipocytes, with an opposite effect on adiponectin (ADIPOQ). In addition, an increase in SVF cell proliferation and ERK1/2 phosphorylation, was observed, compared to untreated cells. G15 reverted all of these effects. Interestingly, the action of BPA on SVF cell growth was mimicked by IL-8 treatment and was reverted by incubation with anti-IL8 antibodies. All these data suggest that BPA at 0.1 nM, a ten times lower concentration than environmental exposure, increases the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines via GPR30 both in mature mammary adipocytes and in SVF cells with a possible involvement of IL-8.


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Pitcairn Island #Blog2

By Joey O'Connor

Pitcairn IslandOverseas Territories

Mission accomplished!

Hello once more from Pitcairn Island, where we have completed our survey work and will shortly begin our return to the UK.
We’ve had a great week on the water here and have seen lots of impressive coral, macroalgal and sandy habitats as well as colourful fish, sea cucumbers, crustaceans and one turtle!

image of coral  Sea cucumber

Coral (left); sea cucumber (right).

All in all, we’ve completed 60 camera and three CTD (standing for Conductivity, Temperature and Depth, this is a sensor we use to measure water column parameters including salinity and temperature) stations around the island, collecting 10 hours of high-quality video and almost 4,000 still images! The image below shows where we have collected data, with the red dots denoting locations surveyed.

Map of survey locations

Map showing where data has been collected. The red dots denote the locations surveyed.

This represents a comprehensive dataset which we will use to make a habitat map for the waters surrounding Pitcairn Island to feed into zoning discussions and the Marine Management Plan and which will allow us to characterise and monitor Pitcairn’s coral reefs. In short, mission accomplished!

While we’ve been super fortunate with the weather, we certainly would not have collected as much data as we have without the hard work of our local colleagues, namely Captain Jayden and First Mate Torika, and their boat Vai Papa (which means 'calm waters'), as well as our hosts Meralda and Leslie and others, who have made our stay here very enjoyable and kept us well fed and in clean clothes throughout!

Survey team and support team  Survey team and support team

The survey team and support team.

Please follow @JNCC_UK, and @ukgovbluebelt on Twitter for more updates on this work, which has been funded by @UKCSSF.

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Operations Manager - Telecommunications

Location: Owensboro, KY, United States
Job ID: R3612
Job Status: Full-Time

Job Summary:

You are a skilled Operations Manager with experience successfully managing telecommunications construction projects. In this rewarding position, you will oversee the day to day operations of Outside Plant construction and project management, while maintaining a steadfast focus on schedule, budget, and the safety and development of project staff. You are equipped to drive both short and long term solutions for the business, contributing to its’ unrelenting success.

Are you ready to assume a new leadership role? Join our team in Kentucky today.

Essential Responsibilities

  • Demonstrates leadership in health, safety, and environmental protection on the project.  Promotes overall compliance of Ledcor HS&E standards, applicable OH&S Acts, regulations and codes with all employees and subcontractors on the project
  • Creates and/or facilitates Project Quality Program to ensure project materials are supplied and work is completed accordingly
  • Ensures that projects are built according to approved plans, specifications, shop drawings, and applicable building codes and that high-quality standards are maintained
  • Develops and maintains the construction schedule in conjunction with project team to meet milestones and completion dates
  • Leads project meetings with internal and external stakeholders to monitor and support the project’s ongoing progression
  • Provides strong leadership to construction team members, capitalizing on individual and group strengths to ensure project targets are achieved
  • Identifies and manages opportunities and risks to achieve the best possible impact on schedule and financial targets
  • Achieves or exceeds project schedule commitments
  • Sets expected levels of documentation, standards for accounting issues, methodology of budget control, types of bids (fixed price, cost plus, unit price), etc.
  • Reviews and approves OSP sub-contractor invoices in a timely manner Ensures that as-built drawings for OSP are provided to Owner upon completion of construction for each segment
  • Maintains, tracks, and reports all financial aspects of project including forecasts and billings
  • Maintains good relationships and positively interacts with Customer Representatives, Subcontractors, and the public
  • Ensures understanding of, and compliance with, municipal rules and regulations related to permits, road occupancy, etc.
  • Ensures ISP Field Technician safety & productivity including OTDR and 100g RFC 2544 testing
  • Performs other related duties as required

  • 10+ years of related work experience, or a combination of relevant education and experience
  • 10+ years of Outside Plant Engineering/Construction experience, with an emphasis on state roadway and site add projects
  • Completed post-secondary education in Construction, Engineering, a related discipline, or equivalent work experience
  • Familiarity with directional drilling and aerial construction methodologies
  • Ability to plan and manage project schedules, and a strong understanding of costs and budgets
  • Capable of anticipating constructability issues in complex situations and creating new solutions in the construction plan and schedule
  • A track record of building successful teams and promoting teamwork through motivating, coaching, and consensus-building.
  • Strong organizational and planning skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities
  • Strong oral and written communication skills paired with an ability to communicate clearly and collaborate with multiple stakeholders and anticipate stakeholder needs
  • Clean drivers abstract
  • Successful completion of a criminal background check and pre-employment drug & alcohol requirements

Additional Information:

Company Description

Ledcor Technical Services (LTS) designs, builds, and maintains wireline or wireless networks that span North America and beyond. We are a proven leader and innovator in telecommunications network construction, maintenance, and service installation and repair.

But when you work for Ledcor, your experience will go far beyond the project. Do you want a career that means more? Join our True Blue team now!

Employment Equity

Ledcor is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, status as a qualified individual with disability, or any other legally protected status. All applicants must be able to show proof of eligibility to work in the United States.

E-Verify® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Link to: https://www.uscis.gov/e-verify

Date Posted
May 14, 2020

E-Verify® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

E-Verify logo

101 E 4th St, Owensboro, KY, United States


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What you’ll be doing...

You will be a Digital CRM manager in our transactional communications team and part of a program that manages more than 3 billion interactions with our customers each year. Your role will be orchestrate those communications into a best-in-class customer experiencing, by defining - and working with IT to implement - business requirements that drive highly personalized email, push and text communications. You will help deliver integrated communications that increase brand recognition, build customer confidence, lower call volumes, and drive revenue.

In this role, you’ll assist in all activities related to campaign deployment – including the strategic, tactical and support functions (creative, project management, technology, and analytics). You’ll be involved in leveraging marketing technology to drive business performance and an excellent customer experience.

Campaign Integration & Orchestration

  • Create best-in-class post-transaction communications experiences.
  • Integrate disparate and duplicate messaging into cohesive and clear transactional program.
  • Document and deliver communications that align to requirements from key stakeholders within legal and the broader business.
  • Drive incremental revenue through relevant and integrated cross-selling within campaigns.

Campaign Execution & Delivery

  • Partner with internal teams (business/product sponsors, brand, care, legal), agencies and vendors to ensure on-time and accurate completion of projects.
  • Develop creative briefs for complex, rules-based, multi-step customer communications programs.
  • Ensure proper HTML presentation and the quality of all outbound campaigns on desktop and mobile.
  • Deliver insight and research for optimizing communication programs; customer journey mapping, cross-sell campaign strategies, personalization, and A/B testing.
  • Leverage campaign results, analytics and direct marketing best practices to optimize communications for key performance metrics.

Technical Planning & Design

  • Knowledge on data specifications to ensure required data fields are available for campaigns.
  • Develop requirements to establish campaign API configurations to drive triggered communications.
  • Helping to perform extensive testing and creating scenarios to extract & validate data.
  • Develop & utilize appropriate quality assurance standards, methods, or procedures to ensure overall product quality and/or release readiness.

What we’re looking for...

You’ll need to have:

  • Bachelor’s degree or four or more years of work experience.
  • Six or more years of relevant work experience.
  • Experience with a “Tier 1” commercial email deployment platform.
  • Experience with commercial marketing clouds (Adobe Campaign, Responsys, and/or Salesforce) and building complex marketing workflows with multiple data sources.
  • High degree of independence and resourcefulness – experience balancing multiple projects, prioritizing responsibilities and meeting deliverable dates with limited supervision.
  • Knowledge of campaign performance analysis to drive continuous improvement.
  • Experience in solution design, development and technical consulting through tight collaboration between business and IT teams.
  • Experience with lifecycle and/or customer-facing marketing programs.

Even better if you have:

  • A degree or Master’s degree in Marketing, Computer Science, Information Design, Management Information Systems, or a relevant IT or Technology field or MBA.
  • Adobe Campaign Certification
  • Experience in technical scripting languages (e.g. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, RPL, Python, etc.).
  • Knowledge of Teradata SQL.
  • Attention to detail.
  • Strong analytical, research and organization skills.
  • Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written skills.
  • Ability to be a team player and work across multiple teams to support varied business objectives.

When you join Verizon...

You’ll be doing work that matters alongside other talented people, transforming the way people, businesses and things connect with each other. Beyond powering America’s fastest and most reliable network, we’re leading the way in broadband, cloud and security solutions, Internet of Things and innovating in areas such as, video entertainment. Of course, we will offer you great pay and benefits, but we’re about more than that. Verizon is a place where you can craft your own path to greatness. Whether you think in code, words, pictures or numbers, find your future at Verizon.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We're proud to be an equal opportunity employer- and celebrate our employees' differences,including race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, and Veteran status. Different makes us better.