She records audiobooks for publishers such as Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Audible, Spotify, Dreamscape, Oasis Audio, and more, in addition to also narrating books for indie authors.
KANSAS CITY, MO, March 25, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Andy Garcia has been inducted into Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Ms. Garcia is an Audiobook Narrator who came into the industry in 2020 after working for over a decade as a clinical mental health therapist, behavioral health educator, and public speaker. Her transition to this role came after sustaining a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) after being hit in a motor vehicle accident. This event led to a long road of recovery and included learning how to walk and talk again. Forced to retire from mental health, Ms. Garcia found passion and purpose in audiobook narration—where she was able to engage in a profession that was directly tied to her ongoing recovery.
In this role as an Audiobook Narrator, Ms. Garcia records audiobooks for traditional publishers such as Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Audible, Spotify, Dreamscape, Oasis Audio, and more, in addition to also narrating books for indie authors. And as part of her business, Ms. Garcia narrates audiobooks live on TikTok, YouTube, Discord, and other social media platforms where listeners can tune in to see behind-the-scenes looks into audiobook production.
During her career as a licensed mental health therapist, which spanned over a decade, Ms. Garcia held various roles including: Director of Behavioral Health for Greater Kanas City Firefighters IAFF Local 42, Director at a psychiatric hospital, Clinical Supervisor at an outpatient behavioral health organization, Director of Business Development for an addiction recovery company, in addition to working as a therapist in: prison, drug-court, in-home, private practice, and rehab settings. During this time, Ms. Garcia also worked as a graduate-level adjunct professor at Avila University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Among other professional accomplishments as an Audiobook Narrator, Ms. Garcia has found success as the founder of a coaching business, BRAND New You, in which she assists fellow Audiobook Narrators in social media content creation, marketing, and branding. She aspires to expand this mentoring to focus on assisting more individuals with disabilities, like herself, with the aim to reach as many people as possible in an effort to support this and other marginalized groups.
Highly educated, Ms. Garcia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from William Jewell College. She then garnered a Master of Liberal Arts in Social Science from Baker University and then obtained a Master of Arts in Counseling from the University of Missouri-Kanas City. Moreover, Ms. Garcia also acquired numerous credentials and licenses, including: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (Kansas), Licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor (Kansas), Licensed Professional Counselor (Missouri), Certified Co-Occurring Disorders Professional-Diplomat (Missouri), Medication Assisted Recovery Specialist (Missouri), Registered Play Therapist, Certified Prepare-Enrich Facilitator, and Nationally Certified Advanced Clinical Intervention Professional.
As a dedicated member of her community, Ms. Garcia has donated her free time to serve on the Community Classroom Committee for the Daughters of the American Revolution and as a member of a local radio station's Life Support Team, which hosts a variety of events to give back to the community.
As part of her continued commitments to her field, Ms. Garcia is a professional member of the Audio Publishers Association (APA) and the Professional Audiobook Narrators Association (PANA) and a proud union member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Arts (SAG-AFTRA). In addition to coaching, Ms. Garcia is also a public speaker—giving presentations for various nationwide conferences and panels. She also serves as a Mentor for the Audio Publishers Association (APA) in their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program.
Ms. Garcia has spent the last four years working with industry-renowned audiobook coaches to perfect her performance craft. Her hard work resulted in her being honored to receive the Silver Award from the HEAR Now Festival in 2023 for one of her audiobook performances. Ms. Garcia strives to continue excelling as an Audiobook Narrator and hopes to be nominated for an Audie Award one day.
About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Marquis celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2023, and Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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