Sabrina Conte SabiaBy Coleen Cook, Spectrio Creative Consultant

“I’m always busy. I like it that way!” Sabrina Conte Sabia is busy with many things, including being a Spectrio voice talent, and she is about to get even busier!

A native of Prince Georges County outside Washington DC, Sabrina made her broadcasting debut near the nation’s capitol. At the end of her senior year at American University in 2005, while majoring in Broadcast Journalism, she began her career as a producer for Westwood One Shadow Traffic in suburban Silver Spring, Maryland. “I started out answering phones, taking traffic tips, and gathering traffic information until I finally got my chance to actually do traffic on-air. My first on-air report was for a station in Fredericksburg, Virginia on a Saturday afternoon. Lots of traffic there in the summer,” she remembers.

Sabrina continued reporting afternoon traffic for eight DC area TV and radio stations, working in Westwood’s major traffic hub for several years. During that time she was heard on at least forty broadcast stations. It was while working at Westwood One that Sabrina met fellow employee Beverly Farmer, already a voice talent for Spectrio, who encouraged Sabrina to try voiceover. A new aspect of her career took off. Seven years later, Sabrina is now one of Spectrio’s most popular voices.

Continuing her voiceover work with Spectrio, in 2007 she landed her first job as a disc jockey in Milford, Delaware at 101.3 WNCL, a small, 3000 watt classic hits station close to the popular Delaware beaches. While hosting a shift, Sabrina discovered her flair for music, and became the station’s music director. On her watch, WNCL was one of five stations nominated for a Marconi Award for being the best classic hits station. “It was a big deal for little station like WNCL, and a real honor to be in the running!”

After six and a half years at 101.3, Sabrina moved to Wilmington last June, becoming Program Director of company affiliate WSTW HD² FM, an online Graffiti radio station that features Indie music. In addition to programming, she hosts afternoons, and does swing shifts on sister station, 50,000 watt hot Adult Contemporary WSTW. If that weren’t enough to keep her hopping, every Thursday Sabrina also participates in a weekly hour long talk show called “Thirsty Thursday” on the company’s affiliated news station WDEL. “It’s a talk show about beer, for beer lovers. Lots of fun!” she adds. “For an hour every Thursday we try new beers and talk about different beers. I also blog online for the show too. But,” she adds,” beer is off limits at the moment.” Sabrina is about to do her most important production to date. “I’m pregnant with my first child, so beer is on hold!”

What does she like best about her varied communications career? “Recording commercials and voiceover work. I love doing voiceover work from home. There’s so much flexibility in it and I just love bringing a script to life!”

Sabrina now voices dozens of commercials and voiceovers weekly for Spectrio and her radio station, and hopes to do more. Plugging everything from car dealers, to doctors, veterinarians, dry cleaners and restaurants like Pizza Hut, she says, “I really enjoy using my voice to paint a picture of food, or to describe a car, making the copy come to life and grabbing the listener’s attention. It’s a challenge to get the words to jump off the page.” You can hear her on the message-on-hold for Durbin’s in Chicago, a well known sports bar. “I’ve never been there but the food sounds yummy! I would love to eat there someday!”

With her and her husband expecting their first child very soon, Sabrina says she plans on taking maternity leave from radio, but looks forward to continuing to voice message-on-hold, working from home. “I promise,” she smiles,” no crying baby in the background of your on-hold messages!”

Take a listen to Sabrina’s voice demo by clicking her name below, and be sure to call us at 800.584.4653 x6377 or email us to request her for your next production with Spectrio!

Sabrina Conte Sabia