About New York Speech Coaching & Staff
New York Speech Coaching was established in 2005 by leading vocal technician Justin Stoney and co-founded by renowned executive speech coach John West. They sought to pair clients seeking authenticity, effectiveness, and confidence with experienced and compassionate speech instructors who could guide them.
We serve individuals of all ages from all walks of life at our studio in Midtown Manhattan and via online sessions. We also offer training for the corporate community in offices across the globe.
We want all clients to feel welcome and comfortable working with us. For more information on our diversity and inclusion initiatives, click here.
Instructor Team
Brendan Houdek
bɹɛndɪn hoʊdɛk • he/him
MA CCC-SLP • Senior Instructor • Head of Corporate Training
Private coaching packages with Brendan begin at $8,500.
Brendan’s coaching combines an intricate knowledge of anatomy and physiology with a background in philosophy. He is passionate about teaching effective business communication, executive presence, and vocal production, equipping clients with control and flexibility to present themselves professionally and authentically. His training covers not only the technical aspects of speech production, but also presentational performance and perspective work.
In addition to his work as a speech coach, Brendan is a NYS-licensed and ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist, specializing in voice and fluency disorders. He holds a Masters of Arts from Hofstra University and Bachelor’s in Philosophy / Religious studies from St. Joseph’s.
Brendan specializes in corporate training with an emphasis on fundraising, pitch decks, sales calls, presentation delivery, and negotiation & persuasion tactics. His clients come from Google, Disney, Forbes, Nasdaq, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Capital One, MetLife, and Amazon, among others.
Using his voice across multiple mediums, Brendan is also a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and voice impressionist, hosting the show Voice Breakdown on YouTube. While entertaining, his impersonation skills also provide valuable insight into speech and vocal production, fostering both precise and intuitive instruction.
Caleb Shomaker
keɪləb ʃoʊmeɪkɚ • he/him
MA in Interdisciplinary Studies • Lead Instructor • Senior Management Team
With a unique background in both science education and theatre training, Caleb brings an inductive and analytic perspective to helping students improve their speech and effectively calibrate their mindset. His coaching is characterized by patience and enthusiasm, as he distills complex ideas in straightforward ways for clients of all backgrounds. His teaching methods incorporate business communication strategies, anatomical understanding, and humanistic psychology, which he pairs with practical exercises that allow his clients to understand their relevance and application.
Caleb holds a BFA in Theatre and Mathematics and an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies from New York University. His master’s thesis, for which he received the Graduate Interdisciplinary Academic Excellence award, argued for the significance of human voice as both a reflection of gendered power relations and an instrument for personal and social change. Prior to his work with New York Speech Coaching, Caleb served as the Resident Vocal Director for Shakespeare in the Square for several years, providing vocal and dialect coaching for dozens of performances.
Caleb specializes in confidence in presentations, vocal depth and strength, leadership in speech, and accent acquisition. He has coached professionals from Google, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Uber, Square, Unilever, Douglas Elliman, the Department of Education, and many others. His clients attest to his infectious energy and passion for speech, offering a balance of playfulness and rigor during sessions.
With intelligent humor and clear directions, Caleb empowers his clients to achieve their goals with enjoyment and conviction.
Brontë England-Nelson
bɹɑnteɪ inglən nɛlsən • she/her
MFA in Acting • Lead Instructor
Brontë used to dread speaking in public. Through much trial and error, training, and practice, she developed a tool kit that has not only enabled her to love public speaking in all its forms (presentations, meetings, conversations), but has also inspired her to share those tools with others.
Brontë has worked with professionals from BlackRock, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, the United Nations, Point 72, Kaiser Permanente, Citadel, Wilkie Farr and Gallagher, Standard Chartered Bank, Campari Group, and Yale University. Topics of particular interest include public speaking anxiety, impromptu speaking, executive presence, speech structuring, interview prep, American accent acquisition, and persuasive engagement.
Brontë holds an MFA from Yale University and a BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she studied speech, communication, and acting. She has been a public speaking and communication coach for over a decade and an instructor at the Summer Conservatory for Actors at Yale since 2018. She has also performed on Broadway and at theaters throughout the country. Her on-screen credits include Blindspot and Law and Order: SVU, along with numerous independent films.
As Head of Education here at New York Speech Coaching, Brontë is constantly finding new ways of approaching this work, as this is not a one-size-fits-all game. With a holistic perspective, rigorous attention to detail, and a buoyant sense of humor, Brontë helps guide her clients toward their communication ideals.
Tricia Veldman
tɹɪʃə vɛɫdmɪn • she/her
MS CCC-SLP • Associate Instructor
Having been described by others in a former life as “timid” and “soft-spoken,” Tricia is no stranger to the fear of public speaking. After embarking on her personal speech quest, Tricia learned to trust and celebrate her own voice. Amazed by its impact on her daily life, she now combines experiential and scholastic knowledge to empower others to do the same.
Tricia loves using voice, speech, and physical presentation as a means to identify the blindspots that prevent speakers from stepping into their personal power. Having lived abroad and speaking a non-native language (Italian), Tricia understands the frustrations that come with being poorly understood. She believes few things make life more satisfying than witnessing someone embody their fullest expression of self - the ultimate goal for her clients.
Currently residing in Savannah, GA, Tricia is an associate speech coach, able to reach clients virtually all over the world, and Head of Georgia Speech Coaching. She is a certified bilingual speech-language pathologist with a Master of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders (Bilingual Extension in Italian) from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Health Science from the University of Florida.
Tricia’s specialties include public speaking, fluency, presentation preparation, bilingual populations, voiceover training, accent modification, and adult and adolescent social skills training. She works with clients from companies including Conde Nast, Reddit, Equinox, the United Nations, Ernst & Young, Equiteq, LinkedIn, Gulfstream, Uber, Disney, and more.
Emphasizing empathy and pulling from first-hand experience, Tricia provides an encouraging environment for clients to develop the bravest versions of themselves while providing practical and individualized strategies.
Watch Tricia's TEDx Talk: Tenets of Time - The Short, the long, the messy.
Daniel Reece
dænjl̩ ɹis • he/him
MFA in Acting • Associate Instructor
Daniel believes that the art of effective communication is not an innate gift, but rather a skill that can be cultivated and practiced. He brings his expertise as a performer to C- level executives on a global scale, helping others develop skills that can be refined and put into action. Working with professionals in politics, finance, sales, legal, tech, and healthcare - among other industries - Daniel provides bespoke differentiation for each of his clients’ business needs to help them operate at their best and find their most impactful voice.
With over 15 years of experience in coaching and teaching, Daniel threads his background in performing arts with behavioral competencies to provide others with the technique and structure to deliver with confidence. His areas of specialty include presentation performance, executive presence, managing speaking anxiety, developing leadership styles, and vocal enhancement. Whether the aim is to knock a pitch out of the park, navigate a difficult conversation or unlock that gravitas within, Daniel’s audience-centric approach helps others find access to a voice that is engaging, impactful, and authentic.
In addition to his work with New York Speech Coaching, Daniel is a corporate training facilitator, helping businesses around the globe develop behavioral skills and communication practices to thrive in the modern workplace. His clients come from organizations including Google, Coca-Cola, United Nations, Goldman Sachs, Netflix, Barclays, AstraZeneca, Uber, and many others. He holds an MFA from Yale University, has performed on both Broadway and Off-Broadway stages, and has appeared in numerous films and TV series.
Daniel believes that there is a performer in everyone and derives the most satisfaction as a speech coach in allowing others to welcome the spotlight.
Courtney Ricketts
koɹtni ɹɪkəts • she/her
MS CCC-SLP • Associate Instructor
Growing up in a vibrant multilingual family, Courtney developed a deep appreciation for the power of language and the nuances of cross-cultural communication. Always up for an adventure, Courtney’s passions awarded her unique opportunities to speak nationally in exhilarating settings, from pageant stages to national conferences.
Courtney combines her love of teaching and specialized speech-language pathology degree to provide a holistic coaching journey. Her years of coaching others ages 3 to 93 have honed her ability to offer a unique blend of individualized learning that seamlessly combines personal passions with technical mastery. She draws from her own extraordinary experiences speaking to audiences of hundreds as an internationally renowned researcher and esteemed titleholder of both the Miss America Organization and the Miss USA Pageant systems.
Currently located in the Washington D.C. area, Courtney earned a Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences with minors in Cross-Cultural Communications and Spanish from Duquesne University. She is an ASHA-certified and Virginia-licensed speech-language pathologist. Her revolutionary, first-of-its-kind work in accent acquisition with native Mandarin speakers awarded her both national and international recognition. She has provided specialized accent training and cross-cultural communication coaching for native speakers of over 20 different languages from every corner of the globe. She has also studied seven different languages which has afforded her unique knowledge and perspective when communicating cross-culturally. Her technical studies and passion for understanding diverse cultures equip her with a unique vantage point when coaching clients.
Courtney specializes in accent training, cross-cultural communication coaching, pageant coaching, public speaking, and speaking voice enhancement for clients of all ages. Discover the joy that Courtney radiates as she empowers you to communicate with your most authentic voice! With enthusiasm, she'll guide you toward your communication goals, ensuring every step of the journey is enjoyable.
Lorene’s passion for teaching is in her DNA. After developing a love for education observing her grandmother, a stellar educator in the Charles County, Maryland public schools, Lorene combined teaching with her love of theater and discovered that coaching was a natural fit.
As a coach, Lorene has worked with companies such as Match.com, FEAST, Buzz and Kill, and more. She holds an MFA from the University of California San Diego, where she coached some of the most reluctant speakers—college students. She loved getting to help students from all walks of life find their voices and fearlessly communicate their truths.
In sessions, Lorene enjoys the challenge of helping her clients overcome their most intractable obstacles. A cornerstone of Lorene’s coaching is breath work: strengthening the mind-body-spirit connection is an essential aspect of her teaching, and she leverages breathing techniques to ease the nervous system so one can speak from a grounded, honest place.
Emotional Freedom Technique, voice work, and music are all tools in Lorene’s toolbox for building a holistic and joyful space in which her clients can find the liberated, confident speaker within. Additionally, Lorene is an experienced dance instructor. After moving to Los Angeles, where she’s lived for over a decade, Lorene became a certified teacher of Yoga Booty Ballet. Through practices like setting intentions and dancing to release fear, she motivates her clients to tell their stories with their full bodies and voices.
Lorene embraces practical eclecticism, taking a multi-disciplinary approach to helping others rediscover the joy of public speaking.
Wolfe Lanier
wʊlf lənɪɚ • he/they
Associate Instructor • BFA in Musical Theatre
Wolfe’s journey into public speaking and effective communication began at the age of seven, within the bustling environment of their parents’ local hair salon in North Carolina. This foundational experience, witnessing the salon’s growth through skillful interaction with clients and employees, instilled in Wolfe a profound understanding of the power of clear, impactful communication. Their career path has been diverse, encompassing roles such as teaching dialects at NYU Tisch School of Drama, engaging in corporate role-play acting, and nurturing students at the Asheville Performing Arts Academy. Wolfe’s academic pursuits at the Hartt School of Theatre honed their skills in musical theatre, direction, and acting, further enriching their ability to guide others in finding their voice.
In addition to their extensive teaching and acting experience, Wolfe has also integrated yoga into their coaching, achieving certification as a yoga teacher to enhance the physical and vocal presence of their clients. This holistic approach underlines Wolfe’s belief that authentic self-expression is a gift, and communication should neither be daunting in small settings nor overwhelming in larger ones. Passionate about unlocking the vocal prowess within each individual, Wolfe is dedicated to helping clients navigate the nuances of voice, ensuring that their communication is not just heard, but felt and remembered.
Stephanie Machado
stɛfəni maʃadu • she / her
Associate Instructor • MFA in Acting
Stephanie grew up speaking three languages: Brazilian Portuguese at home, Spanish with friends, and English at school. Born and raised in Miami, she had the privilege of being immersed in a city with a variety of cultures, where her love for the way people connected across cultures began to flourish. Since then, she has been drawn to helping others share themselves and their thoughts through the power of speech.
An educator, actor, and coach, Stephanie currently resides in NYC, where she teaches speech at New York University and voice at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Stephanie holds an MFA from Yale University, where she studied acting, speech, and voice, and has served as a voice instructor at the Yale Summer Conservatory for Actors since 2016. She has performed at several theaters in NYC and across the country and has worked extensively in TV and commercials.
Stephanie’s talent is helping others speak with confidence and clarity, passion and ease, and joy and enthusiasm while introducing techniques to find breath support, open vocal resonators, maintain vocal health, strengthen articulators, and incorporate elements of dynamic speech. She also specializes in accent acquisition, given her trilingual background and love of languages. Above all, Stephanie prides herself on empowering clients to step into their fullest selves and to trust they have something valuable to share with the world (they always do!). Knowing that speech coaching can sometimes feel a little serious, Stephanie enjoys embracing an energy of play to keep sessions exploratory and fun.
Stephanie is a believer that an unfettered voice, powered by a need to be heard, allows us to embrace our most authentic selves and make genuine connections with those around us.
Joti Patel
dʒoʊɾi pətɛl • she/her
MS in Health Promotion • Associate Instructor
Joti is a British Psychology graduate and executive coach with a multi-faceted career in business and media. Joti moved to New York City from London as an actress, host, and voice artist.
Through personalized coaching, content, and care, Joti’s clients enjoy sessions aligned to a high-performance culture. Joti’s mission is to accelerate growth, build careers, and transform lives by helping clients develop empathy, confidence, clarity, and rapport.
Joti is passionate about connecting diverse audiences on leadership themes such as diversity & inclusion, presentation skills, presence & impact, difficult conversations, interviewing, performance management, client rapport, on camera techniques for virtual set ups, speech preparation, and team building. As an ethnic woman in business/media and with a diverse life experience, Joti connects with a range of clients who value the unique pearls of wisdom she shares in her sessions.
Joti has worked in developing high value communication with clients across many sectors, including Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, PwC, Allen & Overy, Linklaters, HSBC and more.
Joti’s clients benefit from her on-camera roles, including hosting live TV (QVC), events (award shows, Q&A panels, conferences) and acting skills across screen and stage. Joti also plays Cupid as a professional Matchmaker, coaching clients on social skills and the art of conversation.
Embracing the joys of everyday life, Joti describes her life as one big Netflix comedy! Her unique life path has made lemonade from lemons - learning, growing, and inspiring others along the way.
Pilot Instructors
Price: $150/hr.
As we are committed to accessible training, New York Speech Coaching offers a discounted rate of $150 with a pilot instructor. Please note the following stipulations apply:
The instructor with whom you are working may change at any time. While our desire is to offer consistency, and we will do so when possible, several instructors may be going through the process.
The cancellation fee still applies to both client and instructor.
Clients working with pilot instructors also agree that their lessons may be observed (but not recorded) at any point by our staff or interns. While not all sessions will be observed, we ask that you only pursue the pilot instructor tier if you are comfortable with observed sessions. If not, we recommend scheduling with an associate instructor.
As these sessions provide an opportunity for the pilot instructor to sharpen their skills as a teacher, clients working with a pilot instructor complete brief, periodic surveys regarding their satisfaction. This information is for internal use only and will not be shared with the instructor.
Jackie Romankow
dʒæki roʊmænkoʊ • she/her
Pilot Instructor • BFA in Acting & Minor in Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences
Jackie is dedicated to helping everyone find their unique way of communicating by catering to her clients' needs and strengths. Using a "toolbox approach," Jackie believes it is important to have a constant dialogue—or open communication—about what is working and what is not. She utilizes a range of coaching methods, from imagery to breath work to repetition and more.
Jackie is a perpetual student, always seeking to expand her knowledge. She immerses herself in projects, explores new ideas, and is a voracious reader. Her commitment to continuous learning ensures that she stays at the forefront of her field, providing her clients with the most up-to-date and effective strategies.
A vocalist, teaching artist, and actor, Jackie has worked with folks from around the world on their presentation and performance. She has previously trained and worked under the guidance of senior instructors at New York Speech Coaching, learning how to help her clients acquire new accent skills, feel more comfortable speaking English as a second language, and embrace ease when presenting at professional conferences. Additionally, Jackie has worked as a dialect coach in Boston (Lyric Stage Company), New York City (The Wild Project NYC), and New Jersey (The Pingry School). Her love for dialect work came while she completed a BFA in Acting at Boston University. There, she honed her performing and presenting skills while delving into dialects, linguistics, and voice and speech for actors. She also pursued a Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences minor at BU.
Coming from a performing background, Jackie loves encouraging storytelling in her coaching. She believes everyone has an important story to share. Above all, Jackie wants to help those who may feel stifled in their communication – whether at work, among friends/family, or just out in the world – learn how to embrace their voices, feel proud of their stories, and permit themselves to communicate powerfully.
Jordan Smith
Speech Writing Associate
Jordan Smith is a former speechwriter for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Comptroller Scott Stringer. He was also a speechwriter for the American Public Transportation Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group. He has penned keynote addresses, short talking points and everything in between for elected officials, CEOs, and nonprofit leaders. He is the author of the best-selling Kindle Single, Humanity. His writing has appeared in more than 50 national publications, including the New York Times, The Atlantic, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal.
Justin Stoney
Founder and President of New York Vocal Coaching and Affiliates
Justin Stoney founded New York Vocal Coaching and affiliates including New York Speech Coaching, and is currently available as NYVC's head instructor for those interested in singing sessions. He is an internationally recognized Voice Teacher and Vocal/Speech Coach. As one of the leading Voice Teachers in today’s music industry, he has appeared on the NBC Today Show, CBS, Fox News, Fox 5 New York, The Insider, and is a frequent guest on Huffington Post Live’s interviews of celebrity singers. His teaching has been featured in publications such as Esquire Magazine, Newsweek/The Daily Beast, NME, Fox News Magazine, Discovery News, Medical Daily, NY Daily News, New York Magazine, UK’s Daily Mail, Vice Magazine, Marie Claire, and Backstage Magazine. Backstage readers also voted Mr. Stoney as one of New York City’s best Voice Teachers and Vocal Coaches. For more on Justin and New York Vocal Coaching, please click here.
Diversity Statement
Our client base consists of individuals from various walks of life who seek to love their voice and speech style. Differences in age, race, gender identity, nationality, sexual orientation, physical ability, thinking style, and background provide the rich gift of diversity. We welcome and encourage clients from all backgrounds to participate in our training.
As we continue to evaluate our language in definition and in practice, we recognize instances on our website that include generalities. In the context of sessions, we aim to adapt our curriculum and language to each client's individual circumstances and preferences, and we strive to create an inclusive environment for often sensitive concerns surrounding manifestations of personality and identity.
Further, we unhesitatingly acknowledge that our staff and organization are not yet where we want to be with respect to reflecting the diversity of the world and the clients who may be pursuing our services. As a result, we understand there are steps that we need to take in order to improve as an organization. Such steps that we have begun include: utilizing services to help us engage with and hire instructors of color, developing a volunteer program to provide training to a wider array of students, and beginning collaborations with organizations focused on helping companies like ours address these issues in both our coaching and our culture.
We celebrate our organization as a place of expression, and we are cognizant of the degree to which self-expression takes place in various forms. By continuously implementing initiatives that work towards diversity and inclusion into our platform, we hope to create an environment which embraces all people, and it is enormously important to us that you feel welcome in the process.