William A. Vance, Ph.D., Director

The Executive Voice is led by William Vance, a linguist and expert on business communication. William helps governments, multinational companies, and NGOs to strengthen the communication skills of their staff. Having taught at Yale in various capacities for 30 years, he has offered more than 350 courses. He was the founding director of the Professional Communications Center at the School of Management. He has also led the media training for the World Fellows program, the University's signature global leadership initiative. William is the author of numerous articles and six books on business communication. He holds a Ph.D. in linguistics (Yale) and has an A.B. from the University of Chicago.

Katherine Babb, M.S.W.

Katherine offers expertise in multi-cultural and cross-functional communication. Working with clients from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds has allowed her to excel at communicating across social and linguistic strata. Her experience includes supporting medical teams in Haiti and Honduras with clinical interventions. As an expert in substance abuse and mental health treatment, she has used evidence-based practices in her work at The Children’s Center of Hamden. She brings a strong advisory component to her coaching that helps clients identify goals and create their own solutions to achieve their target outcomes.

Mo Desrosiers, B.A.

Mo brings extensive experience in healthcare to her work in helping clients to advocate for change within hierarchical organizations. Her coaching centers on ways to expand knowledge as a key avenue to improving outcomes in resource constrained and high-stress environments. Her interventions blend compassion with directness as clients explore new methods of problem analysis, with an emphasis on the value of documentation for realizing trends in dynamic environments and for finding hidden solutions to persistent challenges.

Kathleen Ellis, M.A.T.

Kathleen works with clients in a variety of sectors, ranging from pharmaceutical research to finance to non-profit organizations. Her workshops have addressed leadership style, employee appraisal systems, time management, email writing, and presentation skills. As a coach, Kathleen draws up on her experience as a seasoned writer, editor, and marketing consultant to provide a full spectrum of services, including managerial training and corporate communication. She works with clients to develop more sophisticated leadership skills that align with their core strengths and advance their career goals.

Tim Hare, M.Div.

Tim offers expertise in public speaking, organizational behavior, and leadership development. He excels at helping clients to understand and address diverse constituencies in their work environment, while taking a compassionate approach to consensus-building and vision creation. Tim speaks frequently to large groups on range of development issues, and he has written for the National Resource Defense Council. With extensive experience in fund-raising, Tim helps clients to craft a compelling story about their goals and partnership opportunities. Tim is a valued counselor for managers who seek to improve their speaking, writing, and communication strategy for teams of diverse ethnic backgrounds and working styles.

Nyr Indictor, M.A.

Nyr works with clients in healthcare, the sciences, economics, business, architecture, law, and telecommunications to facilitate interpersonal and language skills. He is fluent in Mandarin, and has extensive training in linguistics. Nyr excels at helping clients to navigate complex multi-cultural barriers in the workplace. He has trained managers for the New York City government. In university settings, he advises Ph.D. candidates on their tenure track interviews and job talks. Nyr specializes in strengthening the writing skills of economists preparing papers for submission to academic journals. He earned his A.B. at Princeton, completed graduate work at Cornell, and has an M.A. from the New School.

Fusae Kanda, Ph.D.

Fusae manages our services in Asia. With over fifteen years of corporate experience at Japan Airlines and the Nippon Television Network, she offers an array of business advisory services, including localization, market entry, channel selection, and partnership vetting. Fluent in Japanese and Chinese, Fusae earned her doctorate at Yale University, completed her post-doc at Harvard, and has authored articles on subjects ranging from East Asian cultural dynamics to medical standards to international communication. She is also an established translator of business bestsellers in Japan.

Emalee Thitthavong

Emalee has a background in international affairs and economics, and has years of experience as a teacher of communication to a global audience. She has conducted grassroots research in Indonesia and the Dominican Republic with a focus on healthcare communication, development and technology. Her recent work has focused on healthcare communication as she helps doctors and patients to navigate complex medical treatment options. Fluent in Thai, she coaches an international clientele at various career stages.

Julie Vance, B.A.

With training in psychology and linguistics, Julie is a specialist in venture capital pitching and communication strategy. She has been a researcher at the Einstein Medical Center and has designed training programs for professionals in the sciences and in business. As a coach in both academic and corporate settings, she has helped thousands of people to become more effective in their business writing and their managerial communication. Her coaching approach shows clients how to overcome their barriers to intelligibility and persuasion, while building credibility with colleagues.

Lis Venetiou, M.A.

With her cross-cultural communication experience in Asia and extensive writing background, Lis has guided clients to improved writing, interview, and presentation skills. Lis specializes in helping clients throughout the world to navigate their work environments as well as find their professional voices. A former English Instructor at Northern Arizona University and a published author, Lis holds a Master's Degree in English. In the corporate sector, Lis supports clients in the pharmaceutical industry. Her coaching style centers on careful listening for the triggers of influence in each client's goals and the selection of novel strategies for communication improvement.