Sandy Hirsch

Sandy Hirsch, MS, CCC/SLP, is a licensed and board-certified speech-language pathologist with over 30 years of experience as a clinician, trainer, and educator. She received her MS in speech-language pathology in 1989 from the University of Washington and holds a BA in French and classics (1981) with a minor in music from Lancaster University in England. She is a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the Washington Speech-Language-Hearing Association (WSLHA), Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), The Voice Foundation, the Northwest Voice Foundation, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). She is a certified Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) clinician, as well as a trained Lessac-Madsen Resonant Voice Therapy (LMRVT) clinician and Compton P-ESL accent modification trainer. Sandy has been a voice-specialized clinician throughout her career. She has worked in private practice, hospital, clinic, home health, hospice, and school settings, working with multiple neurological and functional diagnoses that include swallowing, voice, speech, language, and cognition.

Sandy has an international reputation in gender-affirming voice and communication training with over 30 years of experience in this area of the field. She is recognized for having developed a unique approach to modifying resonance in gender-affirming voice training (Hirsch’s Acoustic Assumptions). Sandy has coedited and authored all editions of the Plural Publishing textbook on voice and communication training for transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) clients (Adler, Hirsch, & Mordaunt, 2006, 2012; Adler, Hirsch, & Pickering, 2019). Collaborating with two expert colleagues, Leah Helou and Christie Block, and with guest lecturer AC Goldberg, she has developed and taught annual training workshops for voice clinicians and educators committed to providing voice and communication services to TGNC people. These workshops include a webinar component to reach participants globally.

Sandy’s work has been featured across all media, including Stemple & Hapner, 5th edition (6th edition in press), and ASHA’s Perspectives. Sandy has presented regularly at the Esprit Gala and Gender Odyssey, as well as at ASHA, CPATH, the Voice Foundation Annual Symposium, VASTA, Fall Voice, the Art and Science of Performing Voice, and Moving Trans History Forward in Victoria, British Columbia. She has lectured at the University of Washington, Western Washington University, and the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz.

Drawing from a diverse background as a clinician, linguist, singer, and actress, Sandy is known to cut to the core of a communication challenge with sensitivity, humor, and precision. A marriage of theatre and singing, clinical voice expertise, and languages (French and German) gives her a rich perspective on communication training, as well as a deep understanding of diverse cultures and personalities.

Sandy is a 2023 recipient of the Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Contributions in Clinical Achievement of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.