World Voice Day Event
Illinois State University, Normal, IL.
April 14, 2026 | 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Session Overview:
As part of the World Voice Day celebrations at Illinois State University, our undergraduate Voice Disorders course had the privilege of hosting an engaging and informative guest session on two critical and interconnected topics in voice care: Professional Voice Users’ Voice Care and Gender Affirming Voice Care. The session was delivered via audio-video by distinguished guest speaker Olivia Flanigan (she/her) on April 14, from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

The session was an excellent and enriching experience for our undergraduate students, providing them with both scientific depth and compassionate clinical insight into these important areas of voice care.

About the Guest Speaker:
Olivia Flanigan (she/her) is a singer-songwriter, SVI-Trained Vocologist, and voice teacher based in San Francisco. She holds a Master of Music in Jazz Studies (Voice) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she later served as Jazz Voice Faculty. She subsequently became Director of Jazz Voice at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, a Berklee Global Partner institution in Ecuador.
Olivia is an SVI-Trained Vocologist, having completed the prestigious Summer Vocology Institute at the University of Utah under the mentorship of Dr. Ingo Titze — one of the world’s foremost experts in voice science. Her additional credentials include certification in Gender Affirming Voice Training: A Course for Clinicians, as well as Levels I, II, and III of Somatic Voicework™: The LoVetri Method.

Since 2018, Olivia has specialized in gender-affirming voice work, supporting transgender and gender non-conforming speakers and singers in finding authentic, confident voices that align with their identities.
As a jazz-trained, Downbeat Award-winning indie-pop singer-songwriter, Olivia brings a unique blend of artistry, cutting-edge vocal science, and compassionate pedagogy to her clinical and educational work.

Session Details:
Topic 1: Professional Voice Users’ Voice Care
This component of the session explored the unique vocal demands placed on professional voice users — including singers, teachers, and public speakers — and the evidence-based strategies for maintaining optimal vocal health and performance.

Topic 2: Gender Affirming Voice Care
This segment provided students with a comprehensive introduction to gender-affirming voice care, including the clinical, pedagogical, and interpersonal dimensions of working with transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. Olivia drew on her extensive clinical experience to offer practical insight and foster an inclusive, affirming perspective among future voice clinicians.