Dysphonia International Inc

DYSPHONIA INTERNATIONAL IS DEDICATED TO IMPROVING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE AFFECTED BY SPASMODIC DYSPHONIA AND RELATED VOICE CONDITIONS THROUGH RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AWARENESS, AND SUPPORT.

OUR RECENT ACTIVITIES REFLECT A DYNAMIC ENGAGEMENT WITH THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY IN ADVANCING VOICE RESEARCH AND AWARENESS. NOTABLY, WE MARKED A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE BY HOSTING OUR FIRST IN-PERSON SYMPOSIUM SINCE 2019. THIS ALSO MARKED THE FIRST OFFICIAL MEETING OF DYSPHONIA INTERNATIONAL. OUR PRESENCE REMAINED IMPACTFUL AT THREE MAJOR PROFESSIONAL VOICE CONFERENCES, INCLUDING A PRESENTATION TO LARYNGOLOGY FELLOWS AT THE FALL VOICE CONFERENCE. WE SPONSORED EIGHT INSIGHTFUL WEBINARS THAT ATTRACTED OVER 3,100 PARTICIPANTS FROM AN AVERAGE OF 30 COUNTRIES, UNDERSCORING OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION. WE PUBLISHED AN ISSUE OF "OUR VOICE," OUR ANNUAL NEWSLETTER, ALONG WITH THE E-VOICE, AN ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER. IN AMPLIFYING AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF VOICE HEALTH, WE LAUNCHED A WORLD VOICE DAY CAMPAIGN THEMED "YOUR VOICE MATTERS," RESONATING WITH AUDIENCES GLOBALLY. OUR DEDICATION TO EDUCATION EXTENDED TO COORDINATING TEN ENGAGING PRESENTATIONS FOR THE GUEST SPEAKER PROGRAM, REACHING GRADUATE-LEVEL SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY STUDENTS AND EMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF VOICE PROFESSIONALS. IN A SPIRITED DISPLAY OF COMMUNITY UNITY AND SUPPORT, WE ORGANIZED THE 4TH ANNUAL WALK FOR TALK, ENCOMPASSING WORLDWIDE VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION ALONGSIDE 22 IN-PERSON EVENTS. NOTABLY, TEN OF THESE EVENTS WERE INAUGURAL WALKS, MANY SPEARHEADED BY HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS PASSIONATE ABOUT OUR CAUSE. THROUGH OUR COLLECTIVE EFFORTS, OUR COMMUNITY ACHIEVED AN UNPRECEDENTED FUNDRAISING MILESTONE, RAISING $124,566, FURTHER MAGNIFIED BY A DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR MATCH, CULMINATING IN A GRAND TOTAL OF $249,132 DEDICATED TO FUELING IMPACTFUL RESEARCH AND PROGRAMS FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF VOICE AWARENESS WORLDWIDE.

OUR COMMITMENT TO FOSTERING COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND LEADERSHIP WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN EVIDENT THROUGH A DIVERSE RANGE OF INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS. WE ORGANIZED AND PROMOTED OVER 90 SUPPORT MEETINGS IN VARIOUS MEDIUMS, INCLUDING VIRTUAL, IN-PERSON AND HYBRID. WE SUCCESSFULLY HOSTED A LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP, MARKING A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE IN OUR EFFORTS TO PROVIDE HANDS-ON GUIDANCE AND TRAINING TO OUR LEADERS, A FIRST SINCE 2019. RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF ONGOING EDUCATION AND COLLABORATION, WE LAUNCHED A MONTHLY SERIES OF VIRTUAL MEETINGS DEDICATED TO OUR SUPPORT NETWORK LEADERSHIP, WITH SESSIONS ROTATING BETWEEN AREA CONTACT LEADERS, SUPPORT GROUP LEADERS, AND JOINT LEADERSHIP DISCUSSIONS. ADDITIONALLY, WE INTRODUCED THE SPOTLIGHT ON A LEADER PROGRAM, SHINING A WELL-DESERVED LIGHT ON THE EXCEPTIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF OUR VOLUNTEER LEADERS, INSPIRING OTHERS AND FOSTERING A CULTURE OF RECOGNITION AND APPRECIATION. IN ORDER TO PROVIDE VALUABLE RESOURCES TO OUR VOLUNTEERS, WE ESTABLISHED A COMPREHENSIVE LEADERSHIP LIBRARY, SERVING AS AN ONLINE REPOSITORY OF TOOLS AND INFORMATION TAILORED TO SUPPORT OUR LEADERS IN THEIR ROLES EFFECTIVELY. FURTHERMORE, WE FACILITATED TWO IMPACTFUL MEDIA WORKSHOPS FEATURING REPORTER PETER HASKELL, EMPOWERING OUR SUPPORT LEADERSHIP NETWORK WITH VALUABLE INSIGHTS AND SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND ADVOCACY. CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE AND DEDICATION WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, WE PROUDLY PRESENTED PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS SUCH AS THE MIDGE KOVACS AWARD, THE DOT SOWERBY AWARENESS AWARD, AND THE LARRY KOLASA FOUNDING PRESIDENT'S AWARD, HONORING INDIVIDUALS WHOSE CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE MADE A PROFOUND IMPACT ON OUR MISSION AND VISION. TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITY INFORMED AND CONNECTED, WE CONTINUED TO PUBLISH OUR QUARTERLY ONLINE NEWSLETTER, VOICES OF SUPPORT, SPOTLIGHTING THE INSPIRING WORK AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF OUR DEDICATED VOLUNTEER SUPPORT NETWORK, FOSTERING CAMARADERIE AND SHARED LEARNING EXPERIENCES.

OUR COMMITMENT TO ADVANCING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND FOSTERING COLLABORATIONS HAS BEEN EVIDENT THROUGH A SERIES OF IMPACTFUL INITIATIVES AND ENGAGEMENTS. WE FUNDED THREE NEW RESEARCH GRANTS, PROVIDING CRUCIAL SUPPORT FOR INNOVATIVE PROJECTS AIMED AT ADVANCING KNOWLEDGE AND IMPROVING OUTCOMES. ADDITIONALLY, WE EXTENDED AUGMENTIVE FUNDING TO BOLSTER FIVE ONGOING RESEARCH ENDEAVORS, NOTABLY INCLUDING A TREATMENT CLINICAL TRIAL FOCUSED ON A GROUNDBREAKING NEW NEUROTOXIN-BASED APPROACH. RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION IN OUR FIELD, WE AWARDED TWELVE TRAVEL AWARDS AND TWO CONFERENCE AWARDS TO OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUALS PRESENTING THEIR WORK AT THE ANNUAL MEETINGS HOSTED BY PROFESSIONAL VOICE ASSOCIATIONS. OUR EFFORTS TO EXPAND GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS LED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MEANINGFUL COLLABORATIONS WITH TWO NEW PROFESSIONAL LARYNGOLOGY SOCIETIES IN EUROPE, FOSTERING CROSS-BORDER EXCHANGE AND MUTUAL LEARNING. IN OUR DEDICATION TO NURTURING TALENT AND PROMOTING KNOWLEDGE SHARING, WE ORGANIZED A VIRTUAL RESEARCH WORKSHOP TAILORED SPECIFICALLY FOR INVESTIGATORS FUNDED BY DYSPHONIA INTERNATIONAL, PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR MEANINGFUL DISCUSSIONS AND INSIGHTS. TO FURTHER ENRICH OUR STRATEGIC GUIDANCE AND EXPERTISE, WE WELCOMED THREE DISTINGUISHED PROFESSIONALS AS NEW MEMBERS TO OUR ESTEEMED SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD, TAPPING INTO DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES AND EXPERIENCES. ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN TWO SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIA, INCLUDING AN INTERNATIONAL GATHERING, UNDERSCORED OUR COMMITMENT TO STAYING AT THE FOREFRONT OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE AND INNOVATION. THESE ENGAGEMENTS NOT ONLY PROVIDED OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE OUR INSIGHTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS BUT ALSO FACILITATED INVALUABLE NETWORKING AND COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE GLOBAL SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.