WiV Chicago
About Women in Voice Chicago
We are excited to introduce Women in Voice Chicago Chapter!
Women in Voice Chicago was formed by four professionals dedicated to helping women and minority genders find their authentic voices. Despite having distinct backgrounds and career journeys, the WiV Chicago ambassadors came together with the following common goals:
Help women connect with one another and develop careers in Conversational AI through networking, mentorship, career advice, and practical instruction.
Diversify the field through outreach to populations who may feel excluded. You don’t have to be a coder to work in technology!
Celebrate the curious by diving deep into the culture of Conversational AI and providing a safe space to share career struggles and triumphs.
Upcoming event!
WiV Chicago: Busting Voice Myths
Date: Sunday April 2nd
Time: 12:00 to 12:45pm CST
Duration: 45 min
Join Women in Voice Chicago for our official launch event! During this panel discussion, the ambassadors of Women in Voice’s newest chapter will demystify common beliefs in the conversational AI space.
Stay tuned following the discussion for Q&A, a chance to network, and a brief look at some of our future events. We hope to see you there!
Join Women in Voice Chicago!
Become an official member of Women in Voice!
The new WiV Global Membership is an upgraded experience to join our Women in Voice chapter and the global WiV community.
- Use the link below to register for a global Women in Voice membership
- When asked whether you are interested in being part of a local chapter, check our chapter's box
- We will reach out soon to welcome you!
Get to know the WiV Chicago team!
Colleen Fahey
Colleen Fahey is a creative executive with deep experience in branding and marketing at multiple touchpoints. When she learned of Sixième Son, a sonic branding agency that had created over 400 brands, she approached them about expanding to North America. She opened the sonic branding agency in Chicago at the end of 2012. And in 2017 co-authored the book, Audio Branding: Using Sound to Build Your Brand. Since those days, her team has led Sixième Son’s sonic branding initiatives for Atlanta, Michelin, Huggies, Merrell Footwear, USAA Insurance, Sparkling Ice drinks, a hospital, a news network, an AIDS treatment…and many more.The North American business now operates out of New York, Toronto and Cleveland as well as Chicago. Throughout her career, Colleen has been creative director for leading brands in the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Raised in Madrid, she speaks fluent Spanish, conversational French and courageous but embarrassing Portuguese. You can connect with Colleen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenfahey/.
Mellini Monique
From serving as the Lead Performance Coach for SXSW Pitch to training emerging sustainable energy scientists in vocal communication skills for the United States Department of Energy, Mellini Monique prepares innovators, thought-leaders, creatives–and companies who hire them– to share their voice and vision with the world. Mellini Monique is a professional speaker, voice coach & strategist, pitch performance coach, and emerging voice-tech savant anchored in wellness and well-being. She is the founder of Vocal Culture Garden, a boutique voice design & strategy firm giving voice to humans and AI.
Her work at Vocal Culture Garden includes, but is certainly not limited to:
- Consulting pitch programs to create space for more Diversity in Pitching™️,
- Coaching founders to move Beyond The Deck™️,
- Developing corporate voice brand identities
- Crafting and curating educational and exploratory voice experiences
- Finding deep fulfillment leading private clients on a soulful voice discovery via her proprietary framework, Pathway To Phenomenal™️
Mellini Monique has over 30 years of collective experience in public speaking, theatre arts, professional coaching, and expressive therapies, and over 15 years as a medical missionary and wellnesspreneur. With a public relations and theater degree from Columbia College and a Master of Arts in Drama Therapy from New York University, Mellini is uniquely positioned to teach executives, high-achievers, entrepreneurs, and business owners how to architect and deliver their unique voice brands to create highly desired outcomes. You can connect with Mellini: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mellinimonique/.
Tali Weinberg
Tali Weinberg is a conversation designer specializing in virtual assistants, IVR, and SMS outreach. Her background is in clinical speech pathology, working alongside adults with neurological disorders in the areas of communication, cognition, and swallowing. She utilizes her foundation in linguistics, psychology, and research to holistically design conversational experiences that meet users’ underlying needs, while staying true to each brand’s style and tone. She is passionate about accessibility in tech and is a staunch advocate for infusing accessibility into all her designs, as designing for those with disabilities ultimately helps everyone. In addition to her involvement in WiV, she mentors clinical professionals looking to pivot into tech. You can connect with Tali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tali-weinberg/.
Susan Westwater
Susan Westwater advises the world’s most innovative brands that want to capitalize on the incredible opportunity Voice and conversational AI represent. Combining the strategic marketing and brand knowledge she gained from 20+ years at top tier agencies such as Leo Burnett and working in corporate, Susan helps clients expand their brands into conversational experiences to solve marketing and customer experience problems. Susan has presented and authored a number of talks, workshops, articles, research papers, and books focused on the role Voice, conversational AI, and other emerging technologies like the metaverse, play in marketing and business strategy. She is an Ambassador of the Open Voice Network, an instructor at the AI Academy for Marketers. Susan is co-author of Voice Strategy: Creating Useful and Usable Voice Experiences (which was a #1 Release on Amazon) and is a co-author of Voice Marketing (publishing in 2023). You can connect with Susan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanjwestwater/.
Get in touch!
If you have any questions, please reach out!
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