Michele Spitz

ABOUT WOMAN OF HER WORD: Professional voiceover artist, public speaker, advocate and philanthropist, Michele Spitz is dedicated to making the world accessible to all communities by providing her vocal talents to filmmakers, publishers, speaking venues and charitable organizations. Wherever Michele's voice is, her heart is also; short and full-length documentaries, feature films, museums, children's programming, industrial videos, audio manuals and public service announcements. Michele is most passionate about her audio description production and voiceover narration allowing access for visually impaired audiences to experience film and digital media. She has voiced over 60 projects including the documentary features; "Pavarotti," "Itzhak," "How Sweet the Sound - The Blind Boys of Alabama," "CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion," "Lives Well Lived," "Capturing the Flag," "Becoming Bulletproof" and "Dealt". Commercially released films include "The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years," and "Miss You Already". She also video described "The Great Muppet Caper" for Disney Cable. Since 2014, she has sponsored and voiced the audio description for select films annually for Superfest: SF International Disability Film Festival and provided the same annually for ReelAbilities: NY International Disability Film Festival since 2015. She was a panelist and sponsor for the opening of the 2018 ReelAbilities: LA International Disability Film Festival. Michele also provides in-kind audio description production grants to prominent museums, such as the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in 2018. Michele personally underwrites hundreds of patron attendance tickets, artist interactive programs and assistive audience technology for the performing, visual and cultural arts world. These underwriting programs serve disabled, senior, veteran and underserved communities. She is a supporter of Broadway Dreams, Actors for Autism, The Miracle Project, Axis Dance, Deaf West Theater, Deaf Film Camp, Positive Exposure 109, SFJAZZ, Jewish Community Center San Francisco (JCCSF) Arts & Ideas and Osher Marin Jewish Community Center (JCC) Senior Excursions. Michele also supports LightHouse for the Blind, Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB), Helen Keller Services for the Blind and That Man May See. In February 2016, Michele served on a panel co-hosted by New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) and NY ReelAbilities; she spoke on post production accessible media including audio description and captioning for filmmakers. As a member of NYWIFT, Michele serves as a judge on the annual Disability Awareness Film Panel and the Post Production Documentary Film Panel. She originated and sponsored the first annual grant providing audio description and closed captioning for the NYWIFT Disability Awareness Films awarded, now in its fourth year. As of July 2018, Michele has also created the first audio description production grant for the NYWIFT In-Kind Post Production Documentary film selected. These women filmmakers are awarded at the annual NYWIFT MUSE Awards. Michele was also the Voice of God (VOG) announcer for the 2018 NYWIFT MUSE Awards. Michele continues to promote and pursue thought-provoking panels, including a film accessibility panel for the 55th New York Film Festival (NYFF) and a recent media accessibility panel for Women in Film LA (WIF). Educating future media makers to incorporate inclusive mindsets has been an important focus of hers. In 2016, Michele initiated and sponsored the first British Academy of Film and Television Arts New York (BAFTA) Media Studies Scholarship for Feirstein School of Cinema graduate film students with disabilities. Both scholarship recipients will graduate in May 2019. The multiple aspirations and advocacy of Woman of Her Word have been featured in interviews with NBC Bay Area Proud, Marin Arts & Culture Magazine, San Francisco Examiner, as well as PRN.FM, KWMR, and KPOO radio programs. The select catalog of films and digital media for which Michele voiced the audio description are listed on IMDb, and can be experienced in cinemas, via broadcast such as PBS, and streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and iTunes. Michele's commitment is unwavering in the pursuit for inclusion in the arts. Her very presence is a unifying force, which results in equality of experience to the communities she serves. "My life's work is my heart's work."