Julie Ostrem, Project Director
Julie Ostrem, BS, MBA, is living proof that life is, indeed, an interesting
journey. She agreed to return to her husband's home state of Iowa just
about the same time the National Center for Voice and Speech was taking
shape. She's been at the NCVS at The University of Iowa's Department of
Speech Pathology and Audiology since 1991. Prior to that, she was a mid-career
program coordinator at the University of Missouri's prestigious School
of Journalism.
Directing the Voice Academy project has been a unique match for her educational background (a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in business administration) and professional interests: health communications, educational administration, program development and management, as well as struggles with voice issues herself.
Emily Oinen is an illustrator living in San Francisco. She has a quirky sense of humor and loves it when she can bring that to bear on a project. She was a pitbull when solving problems and a pussycat when it came to working out revisions. Another cool fact: Emily's mom is a teacher, and this brought an unexpected, but very welcomed, perspective to her artwork.
Emily's eye for design elevated the level of sophistication of the project. Her visual contributions make cruising through the website a pleasure.
Thea Carruth, Writer/contributor
Thea Carruth, MPH, is a grants manager and health educator currently affiliated
with the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Her professional
interests emphasize health education product design and delivery. She
is intrigued by the connections between healing and the power of the arts.
Her educational background includes a bachelor's degree from the University
of Michigan and a master's degree in public health from Emory University
School of Medicine.
Although she would be too humble to admit it, she is a pro at transforming a bunch of amorphous ideas into a cohesive educational product. During the development of Voice Academy, she asked just the right questions at just the right times to keep project momentum going forward.
Kate Emerich,
Writer/contributor
Kate Emerich, MS, SLP-CCC, is a clinical vocologist for the National Center
for Voice and Speech, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. She has
worked extensively with healthy and damaged voices, specializing in the
care of the injured speaking and singing voice. She earned a bachelor's
degree in vocal performance and a master's degree in communicative disorders
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
She is an internationally recognized clinician in the area of voice disorders. And...she continues to keep her own voice in tiptop shape by singing professionally.
Steven Gray, Writer/contributor
Regrettably, Steven Gray, MD, did not live to see the finished Voice
Academy website. He died peacefully in September, 2002, after a long
illness.
We did not assign another research otolaryngologist as a consultant to the project because - quite simply - there is no replacement for Steve Gray. He had great knowledge and skills as a physician, surgeon, researcher, and teacher. Yet he was always able to communicate his knowledge about voice in ways that would be practical and understandable to those who need this information in their everyday lives.
We believe that he would be pleased that the Voice Academy website is complete and that teachers can benefit greatly from his contributions. We certainly learned much from him.
Judy Leigh-Johnson, Writer/contributor
Judy Leigh-Johnson, PG DP, is a lecturer in voice and speech, and vocal
dialect coach for productions in the Theatre Arts Department at The University
of Iowa. She has taught in Britain, Canada and the United States, directed
student productions, and worked as a dialect coach for theatre companies
in North America. She originally trained as an actor at the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama in London and pursued an acting career on both
sides of the Atlantic, encompassing a wide variety of major roles in theatre,
film, TV, radio drama, voice-overs and commercials.
She continues to be intrigued by the body-voice connection, and potential contributions of theatre voice training to professional voice users, such as teachers.
Libby Romero, Writer/contributor
Libby Romero, BJ, MEd, has professional experience in magazine writing
and public relations and, most recently, as a teacher of English as a
second language in the Arlington, Virginia, public school system. She
earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia
and a master's degree in ESL from Marymount University. She spent many
hours on the project, researching and writing information for the various
classrooms.
During the Voice Academy construction, she good-naturedly and consistently advocated the needs of the classroom teacher by encouraging concise, clear and practical communication of vocal health information.
Ingo Titze, Writer/contributor
Ingo Titze, PhD, is known world wide for his expertise in describing scientific
principles of voice production. He is a Distinguished Professor of Voice
and Speech in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology at The
University of Iowa, Director of the National Center for Voice and Speech,
and Director of the Wilbur James Gould Voice Research Center, Denver Center
for the Performing Arts.
Formally educated as a physicist and engineer (with bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Utah and a doctoral degree from Brigham Young University), Dr. Titze has applied this knowledge to a lifelong love of vocal music. In addition to his scientific endeavors, Dr. Titze continues to sing, describing himself as an "enthusiastic tenor."
Additional awesome talent...
Jeremy Faden and Josef Pohl of Cottage Systems
The University of Iowa: Academic Technologies; Acoustics and Biomechanics Research group; Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology.
And, the many teachers who served in focus groups during the project
development. Their suggestions were invaluable.