Board of Directors


President: Amelia Rollings Bigler

Amelia Rollings Bigler, PhD, MM, currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music (Voice and Voice Pedagogy) at Coastal Carolina University. Dr. Rollings Bigler earned a PhD in Voice Pedagogy from The University of Kansas and a MM in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Rollings Bigler was the winner of the 2018 Van L. Lawrence Fellowship and the first recipient of the Clifton Ware Group-Voice Pedagogy Award in 2022. In 2023, she established the Center for Group-Voice Pedagogy and Research and launched the annual Summer Group-Voice Pedagogy Intensive at CCU. Her primary research interests include musical theatre and contemporary commercial music (CCM) voice pedagogy, small and large group voice teaching, historical voice teacher education and credentialing, and the effects of shoe heel heights, head position, jaw opening and other aspects of body alignment on acoustic and perceptual measures of singing efficiency. Publications have appeared in the Journal of Voice, the Journal of Singing, and Voice and Speech Review


Past President: Kittie Verdolini Abbott

Katherine (Kittie) Verdolini Abbott, PhD, CCC-SLP, MDiv, is currently Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) at the University of Delaware.  Prior academic posts include CSD at the University of Iowa, Otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School, and CSD at the University of Pittsburgh.  With a background in performing voice, she has worked clinically as a voice-specialized speech-language pathologist since 1979.  She completed her PhD in Experimental Psychology/Cognitive Science at Washington University in St. Louis in 1991, with an emphasis in implicit and explicit processes in perceptual-motor learning.  Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1997.  Research topics have spanned a series of topics including hydration, exercise physiology, wound healing, personality, meditation, and clinical trials in voice.


Vice-President: Ingo Titze

Dr. Ingo R. Titze has served as Founder and President of the National Center for Voice and Speech since 1990. His was a University of Iowa Foundation Distinguished Professor of Voice, Speech, and Vocal Music prior to retirement from Iowa in 2019. He has published over 500 articles in scientific and educational journals. His book publications include Principles of Voice Production (1994), The Myoelastic-Aerodynamic Theory of Phonation (2006); in collaboration with Katherine Verdolini, Vocology: The Science and Practice of Voice Habilitation (2012); and Fascinations with the Human Voice (2010), which is printed in eight languages. His research interests include biomechanics of human tissues, acoustic phonetics, speech science, voice disorders, professional voice production, and the computer simulation of voice. His formal training is in Electrical Engineering (MS) and physics (PhD) Dr. Titze is a founding member and first elected President of the Pan- American Vocology Association. Other professional affiliations include the Acoustical Society of America, The National Association of Teachers of Singing, the American Speech Language Hearing Association, and the American Laryngological Association. Honors include The Gould Award for outstanding research in laryngeal physiology (1984), the Silver Medal Award from the Acoustical Society of America (2007), the Honors of the Association Award from ASHA (2010), and the Sundberg-Titze Award from the Voice Foundation (2020). He has administered and taught in the Summer Vocology Institute, the premiere Vocology training program, for 20 years. He has been married to Kathy Titze for 52 years, with whom he has four children and nine grandchildren. He remains an active singer.



Theodora Nestorova at Virtu.Academy | Voice.

Treasurer: Theodora Nestorova

Bulgarian-British-American soprano, researcher, and teacher Theodora Ivanova Nestorova is a Ph.D. candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies/Applied Performance Sciences at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. As a voice scientist and educator, Theodora's vibrato research work has been published in the Journal of Voice and been awarded best paper, poster, and presentation at international conferences such as National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA). An active, versatile vocalist, Theodora is the first-place winner of the American Prize in Vocal Performance and regularly performs across genres as one-half of the experimental soprano-cello duo, Pizzicanto. Theodora holds an M.B.A. in Arts Entrepreneurship (Global Leaders Institute for Arts Innovation), a M.M. in Vocal Pedagogy/Music-in-Education (NEC), and a B.M. in Voice Performance/Musicology (Oberlin). A Fulbright Scholar to Austria, Theodora was a Grant Recipient at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.


Membership Director: Rachel Day

Rachel is currently employed at Northwest Missouri State University as Assistant Professor of Music (Voice). She began teaching private voice and piano lessons in 1993 and became a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) in 1996. She has a BA in Music from Smith College and two Master of Music degrees (Voice Performance and Voice Pedagogy) and a DMA from Arizona State University. Her doctoral document is titled, “Vocal Pedagogy at the End of the Twentieth Century: Revealing the Hidden Instrument.”

She joined PAVA in 2016 and, after serving on the symposia committees for Toronto and Chile, I currently serve as Membership Director for the organization. In 2012, she received Honorable Mention for the Van Lawrence Fellowship in Vocal Pedagogy Research and completed Wicklund Singing Voice Specialist (SVS) Certification. She completed the Summer Vocology Institute with Dr. Ingo Titze in summer 2021. A 2017 CoreSinging® (A Joyful Approach to Singing and Voice Pedagogy) certified teacher, she received Bones for Life® teacher certification in November 2021, a program of somatic awareness developed by Ruthy Alon and inspired by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais. Her specific interest in Feldenkrais® and singing began after her experiences with muscle tension dysphonia in spring 2019.


Communications Director: Beth Falcone

Beth Falcone is a New York based composer/lyricist, pianist, conductor and singing voice teacher. Her musical, Wanda’s World, was produced off-Broadway at the 45th St. Theater (Amas, in association with Terry Schnuck) received two Lortel Award nominations, including best musical, a Drama Desk Award nomination for best book, and she is a Kleban prize winner for Most Promising Lyricist. The show was released on Broadway Records in December of 2019 with album producer Michal J. Moritz, Jr. and has been licensed by Theatrical Rights Worldwide. For more information, visit: WANDASWORLDMUSICAL.com. Her work has been featured in Broadway Bound (Merkin Hall), Lincoln Center Library’s New Composers’ series, the BMI Showcase, Between the Lines radio show, and her music has been published at ContemporaryMusicalTheatre.com. Beth is a Dramatists’s Guild Fellow, a proud member of MAESTRA, BMI, NYSTA, PAVA (Pan American Vocology Association), VoiceCare Network, Voice Foundation and has a private studio in Manhattan. Her pitch matching method is the subject of a research study in collaboration with New York Medical College, and she is currently writing a book: ”Life’s a Pitch and Then you Sping!”

For more information on Beth’s latest activities, visit: BethFalcone.com.


Central Governor: Nandhu Radhakrishnan

Meet Dr. Nandhu Radhakrishnan, an Associate Professor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program in the Department of Human Services and Educational Leadership at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas. He earned his doctorate from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and completed his clinical fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Voice Center in Pennsylvania. Dr. Radhakrishnan specializes in clinical, professional, and performance voice issues. He has authored chapters and articles on voice science and conducts national and international workshops on voice assessment and intervention. He offers continuing education related to vocal arts and science through his limited liability company, VASEE. Dr. Radhakrishnan has designed an innovative voice therapy approach known as the Nasal Resistance (NR) technique. He serves as a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Voice, the Voice Science Advisory Committee of NATS, and the founding faculty of one of the first chapters of PAVA (Southeast Texas Chapter). He is a member of various organizations, including the Voice Foundation, Voice and Speech Trainers Association, and Life Member of the Indian Speech, Language, and Hearing Association. In addition to his profession, he is a playwright, stage artist, YouTuber, and hobby chef.


Eastern Governor: Matthew Hoch

Matthew Hoch joined the voice faculty of Auburn University in 2012, where he was tenured in 2015 and promoted to the rank of professor in 2020. His research program focuses on the scholarship of voice pedagogy and the practical applications of singing voice research in the applied voice studio. Specific avenues pursued include quantification of vocal dose as a means to frame exercise physiology aspects of skill acquisition and fatigue resistance when training up for recital performance as well as furthering pedagogical scholarship in other aspects of voice pedagogy. Hoch’s published bibliography on these topics includes several books as single author, first author, or editor and peer-reviewed articles in over a dozen academic and professional journals. He earned his DMA in vocal performance at the New England Conservatory and is an NCVS-trained vocologist. He is the 2016 winner of the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship, awarded jointly by the Voice Foundation and NATS. In addition to his academic life, Hoch serves as choirmaster and minister of music at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Auburn, Alabama, where he lives with his wife, Theresa, and three children: Hannah, Sofie, and Zachary.


Western Governor: Lynn Maxfield

Lynn Maxfield, PhD, is Director of the Utah Center for Vocology and assistant professor (lecturer) at the University of Utah’s School of Music. He also serves as the contracted voice Coach at the Utah of Utah Voice Disorders Center and is the Associate Editor of the Mindful Voice column of the NATS Journal of Singing. He holds a PhD in Voice Pedagogy and an MA in Voice Performance, both from the University of Iowa.  Prior to joining the University of Utah, he taught voice and voice pedagogy at Eastern Connecticut State University, Monmouth College, and Knox College, as well as music theory and ear training at Carl Sandburg College. 




Emma Laishram - Research Assistant - University of Toronto | LinkedIn

Canadian Governor: Emma Laishram

I am a graduate student of speech-language pathology with 10+years of professional experience and classical conservatory training as an actor/singer from Dalhousie University and The National Theatre School of Canada. I have performed on stages, in studios and film/television across Canada and internationally. In 2019 I released my own EP of original folk music, Beyond Borders, while freelancing as an acting/voice coach, and Music Together teacher. I assistant produced the inaugural season of the South Asian Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts (Vancouver) and assistant-produced the virtual voice symposium, The Power of Voice, hosted by Melanie Tapson Voice Care (2021 & 2022). This symposium included guest speakers from the field of voice (ENTs, SLPs, professional singers, voice users, coaches and vocologists). In 2022 I began a MHSc at the University of Toronto, where I am currently studying clinical practice, conducting peer-reviewed research in the Voice and Resonance Lab.


Latin America Governor: Carlos Manzano

Phoniatrician, MD (Specialist in voice, speech and swallowing disorders). GRADUATED FROM THE NATIONAL REHABILITATION INSTITUTE endorsed by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). HIGH SPECIALTY COURSE IN PEDIATRIC FONIATRICS GRADUATED FROM THE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF MEXICO endorsed by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Master of Medical Sciences endorsed by UNAM. Graduated from the Summer Vocology Intensive (SVI) at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City with Dr. Ingo Titze. President The Voice Foundation – Mexico Chapter. Member of the Panamerican Vocology Association (PAVA). Phoniatrician AT MÉDICA SUR HOSPITAL AND CENTRO MÉDICO ABC HOSPITAL in Mexico City.


PAVA is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization136 S. Main St., Ste. 320, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

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