PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY

As early as elementary school Nancy Morgenstern was cognizant of the impact that one's communication skills have on interpersonal relationships. She had a fourth grade teacher who commented in her heavy Brooklyn accent, "Nancy, you're in New York. Speak like a New Yorker." At the time Nancy had a heavy Bostonian accent, as her parents were from Boston.

Another significant event occurred in fifth grade. A fellow male student who stuttered severely was mimicked by a number of children. It pained Nancy to witness this maltreatment. Childhood experiences such as these, and her realization that communication skills impact on every aspect of our personal and professional lives, inspired her to become a speech pathologist. Nancy demonstrates her compassion and personal interest in her clients' growth as she pursues her passion. "It gives me immense joy to see clients evolve into confident, poised speakers."

Nancy Morgenstern has been in the profession of speech pathology for over twenty years. She brings to her clients a unique combination of academic preparation and diverse professional experience. As the principal of SPEAKBEST LLC, Nancy provides individual and corporate clients with highly professional services in the areas of:

• Accent modification / accent reduction
• Voice and pronunciation
• Interpersonal skills
• Professional presentation training
• A wide range of communication skills.

Over the course of her career, Nancy has served the communication needs of thousands of individuals from a variety of corporate, institutional, educational and public sector organizations, including numerous Fortune 500 companies throughout Connecticut.

The University of Connecticut Health Center, Asea Brown Boveri/Combustion Engineering, The City of Hartford, The Hartford Insurance Group, Northeast Utilities, Fleet Bank, Ames, MDC, and Cigna to name a few.

Generally Nancy works on-site at a client's place of business. She has coached individuals from China, Russia, Vietnam, Africa, Puerto Rico, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, Spain, India, Brazil, Cypress, Japan, Hong Kong and the United States, representing a variety of professions and at all levels of organizations, including the fields of medicine, dentistry, engineering, information technology, sales, marketing, accounting, finance and education.

Nancy trains her clients in a wide range of specific areas of communication skills. These include: accent modification for foreign and regional accents, voice and pronunciation, social communication skills for foreign speakers, grammar, interpersonal skills, executive presentations, assertive communication, listening skills, and disorders of speech, voice, and language-including stuttering, hearing impairment and mild TBI. She specializes in accent modification, voice and pronunciation.

Credentials

• B.A. Speech Pathology/Speech Communication, S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo
• M.A. Speech Pathology, Michigan State University
• Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech/Language Pathology, a Connecticut State license
• Certified to teach the nationally recognized Compton P-ESL Foreign Accent Improvement Program.
• Nancy has personally studied with nationally and internationally respected experts, including: Dr. Dato of the Bilingual Communications Institute, Dr. Compton of the Institute of Language and Phonology; Nationally acclaimed accent/dialect coach Dr. D. A. Stern; and Lorna Sikorski of LDS Associates.
• Voice training includes attendance at the world renowned Voice Institute of the Julliard School of Music, as well as voice programs with Dr. Sataloff, Dr. Verdolini, Dr. Stemple, Dr. Grecco, and Dr. Le Freniere.
• She is a member of
  • The American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association,
  • Connecticut Speech, Language and Hearing Association (past chairperson),
  • CorSpan (Corporate Speech Pathology Network, Marketing Chairperson, Nominations Chairperson),
  • The American Society of Training and Development.
  • Former Director of Speech Pathology, Connecticut Health Service
• Served as a Speech Physiology Research Assistant at UCONN Health Center and Haskins Laboratory at Yale University,
• Consulted to the Grove Hill ENT Group
• Was Director of Speech Pathology at Connecticut Health Services
• Coordinated the Speech Pathology Program at St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Covington, Kentucky
• Supervised professional speech pathologists, and graduate students from University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, and Southern Connecticut State College
• Taught Voice and Pronunciation classes at Connecticut School of Broadcasting and Barbizon School of Modeling
• Consultant to the Organizational Development and Learning Center at Yale University
• Adjunct faculty member for the UCONN Health Center Career Opportunity Program, where she teaches Professional Communication Development and Interviewing Skills to minority and disadvantaged pre-med, pre-dental and high school students
• Consultant/instructor at the UCONN English Language Institute
• On staff at the New England Academy of Theater