Danette HudobaBy Michael Carter, Spectrio Creative Consultant

With a warm, smooth, and often seductive style, Danette Hudoba’s special voice has helped solidify her status as a voice-over giant. But don’t attribute her success exclusively to that signature voice; it’s her strong work ethic and overall versatility that have truly catapulted her career to new levels.y Michael Carter, Spectrio Creative Consultant

Danette was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and she and her family moved to Puerto Rico when she was four. She attended Boston University for Environmental Studies and moved back to Puerto Rico to pursue a job at either the local EPA office or the Department of Natural Resources. “I was working a couple of part-time jobs: bartending in the evenings and as an “as needed” English/Spanish translator and transcriptionist for an insurance company during the day.” As fate would have it, Danette found an ad for a part-time job at the only English language news/talk format radio station on the island. “Thinking it would be really cool to work at the place that broadcasted some my favorite radio programs: All Things Considered, Paul Harvey’s Rest of the Story, Dr. Dean Edell, Car Talk, Dr. Laura, Larry King, Dr. Joy Brown… I applied, and got the job!”

Initially, Danette did not recognize the career potential she possessed with her voice. “I had several friends and family members ask me to record their answering machine/voice mail messages, but it never occurred to me that it could be a career choice.” But within a few months of working with the radio station, she was brought on full-time and asked to do a demo to be included as a voice option for the station’s advertisers. “My first voice-over job was recording Nationwide Insurance hurricane safety tips. I was hooked!”

Danette did not stop there. “Eventually I was able to get some use out of my university studies by researching and recording daily “Our Environment” capsules about Puerto Rico’s wildlife, amazing geography, and ways we can conserve and protect it.” After establishing herself at the radio station, she began to receive calls from local advertising agencies and production companies for their clients’ English language stateside campaigns (with Puerto Rico Tourism Company’s “Explore Beyond the Shore” being a proud moment in her career). She also worked on Spanish language national TV and radio campaigns, and bilingual productions for websites and promotional videos. “Another proud moment being the female voice for the award-winning website EyeTour.com that allows visitors to explore the island’s best attractions – historical sites, beaches, nature reserves, museums, restaurants, and more – through high-quality videos.” Her voice-over work also gave her the opportunity to become an on-air host: first for a community bulletin board, then as the voice for a Friday night “best of” music show, and finally as the co-host of an hour long weekday morning talk show.

When asked about her dream job, she responded: “For more than 20 years I lived the dream of working at my favorite radio station and freelancing as a voice-over talent until Puerto Rico’s plummeting economy led me back to my Midwestern roots last summer. No longer being tethered to a full-time job, I finally found time to design my voice-over website while exploring other passions like photography, ethnic food, and jewelry design.”

As a member of the Spectrio family for over a decade, Danette’s drive, professionalism, and overall optimism have never faltered. The hardest part of being a voice-talent? “When you love what you do, it’s ALL good.”

 

Learn more about Danette Hudoba by visiting her website today at www.danettehudoba.com.

Take a listen to Danette’s demo by clicking her name below, and let us know if you’d like to use her voice on your next Spectrio production!

Danette Hudoba