Leadership Legacy Fund 2025 - Voice and Speech Trainers Association

HomeLeadership Legacy Fund 2025

The Leadership Legacy Fund will provide flexible funds for the board to meet the needs of up-and-coming voice professionals. This year, we invite you to donate in honor of a mentor or voice professional who inspired you, who gave you a reason to continue your life path in VASTA. Donate to the Legacy Fund and include a brief quote, note, or photo about the individual you would like to recognize.

We are thrilled to report that the VASTA Leadership Legacy Fund reached our goal of $10,000 by 2025, in our second year of fundraising. In establishing this fund, through all of us, our gifts and yours, we will create a sustaining fund within 3-5 years. Our major goal is $50,000 so the interest is available to the VASTA Board each year to support the needs of the up-and-coming voice professionals.

The VASTA Leadership Legacy Fund will help to ensure this organization will continue to serve voice professionals as they embark upon their careers. The needs of future generations can change quickly, so the Leadership Legacy Fund will provide flexible funds for the board to meet those new and changing needs. The Board may use these additional funds toward the VSR, scholarship opportunities, membership enrichment & development initiatives, conferences, or awards & grants as needed (full list here) to support future generations.

We invite you to join us in contributing to this fund. All amounts are welcome and tax deductible. You can also set up a monthly donation that fits your budget. Even $25 a month will add up and make a difference!

Interested in joining the Leadership Legacy Committee? Email legacy@vasta.org to get involved.

The 2025 Honorees:
(alphabetical by first name)

Honoring Catherine Fitzmaurice:

"Catherine was instrumental in my development as a voice coach. She not only shaped my entire way of teaching, she ushered me into the profession with love and grace—teaching me how to nuture my students as they find their real voices."

— Michael J. Barnes

"Catherine was instrumental in shaping my teaching and integrating healing and voice."

— Pamela Prather

Honoring Cecily Berry:

— Betty Moulton

Honoring Dawn-Elin Fraser:

Donating in honor of my first mentor, Dawn-Elin Fraser, who unintentionally changed the course of my life at 18 years old. I am proud to call her a colleague and honored to continue to learn from her leadership.

— Lauren Roth

Honoring Dudley Knight:

Dudley's brilliance as a teacher and mentor changed my artistic and career path in countless beautiful ways. I will always treasure his humor, collegiality, and friendship. His distinctive voice continues to echo with gems of wisdom in my mind's ear.

— Lynn Watson

Honoring Eric Armstrong:

Eric's contributions to VASTA speak to the very best of our organization. Eric consistently demonstrates his generosity of spirit, compassionate presence, and incredibly rich breadth of knowledge.

— Lester Shane

Honoring Lynn Watson:

She changed my life fundamentally. Having somebody out there who is not only a role model but can see something in you, that is sometimes hard to see in yourself, is perhaps the key to everything. Love you Lynn, and here's to all beautiful mentors out there.

— Rachel Hirshorn-Johnston

Honoring Richard Cuyler:

Senior Master Teacher of Lessac Kinesensics.

I will always be grateful for his classes. They gave me the confidence of a dancer/athlete and a source of lifelong well-being. He was exceptionally supportive of my transition from training program student to university teacher and has remained a dear friend.

— Barry Kur