Voice and Speech Trainers Association

Values

VASTA welcomes the entire community of voice and speech professionals, where every member has the opportunity to contribute to community, connection, collaboration, access, repair, and sustainability.

• Community: We endeavor to provide a supportive, equitable, and inclusive community for all who work and study in the voice and speech field.
• Connection: We support that speaking and listening are the foundation of deep human connection. At its best, our work allows us to communicate honestly and holistically and to connect with the core of what it means to be, to honor, and to respect ourselves and others.
• Collaboration: We proactively engage with and challenge each other—exchanging ideas, opportunities, and resources in support of one another. Long standing members lift the next generation of voice and speech professionals, while providing space for the future and the ever-evolving ideas of our profession.
• Access: We break down barriers to provide access to resources, connection, and opportunities for all. Through collaboration and service, we work extensively to provide equitable and accessible ways for voice training and use.
• Repair: We are self-critical in our approach and continuously work to grow and do better as a profession. Core to our philosophy is uncovering, facing directly, and undoing past harmful practices that have impacted the field, the association, and those we serve.
• Sustainability: We endure. We value the lineages before us and those yet to come. We value tradition as well as innovation—staying grounded in the roots that still serve us, while moving sustainably toward the future.
• Advocacy: We exist at our core to advance voice and speech both inside and outside the profession, enlightening those who do not understand the field and advocating fiercely for those who work and study in voice and speech.