About Us

About Heartland Healthy Voices

Founded by a singing teacher trained in voice science,
Healthy Voices utilizes vocal hygiene, speech and singing
techniques to provide clients with valuable information
aimed at improving the overall vocal health of each and
every student.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide singers, teachers, and business
professionals a solid background in vocal health, enabling
our clients to improve their singing and speaking abilities.  
The goal of our staff is to offer the best of our multi-
dimensional backgrounds and combine our specialties in
order to extend to our clients the most comprehensive
voice improvement services available anywhere in the U.S.

Based in Saint Louis, Missouri, Heartland Healthy Voices
has led seminars throughout Eastern Missouri and
Southwest Illinois.  Our professionals are committed to
filling the information void in regards to vocal health and
hygiene, not only in the Midwest, but nationwide.

Our Senior Staff

Kourtney R. Strade, M.A

Ms. Strade is a certified vocologist, as well as a voice
teacher and singer.  With a Bachelor of Science in Vocal
Music Education, a Master’s degree in voice from the
University of Missouri-Kansas City, Conservatory of Music,
and a Certificate of Vocology jointly presented by the
National Center for Voice and Speech and the University of
Iowa; she has been developing her skills as a voice
specialist for nearly a decade. Using training from such
professionals as renowned vocal scientist, Ingo Titze, and
pedagogue Oren Brown, Ms. Strade has served as a
singing voice consultant for the University of Iowa Voice
Clinic, and worked as a clinician in Voice Diagnostics.  In
her private studio, Ms. Strade has helped many persons
strengthen his/her singing voice following a voice disorder,
and several students have gone on to become
performance scholarship recipients and NATS competition
winners.  

Kourtney uses her unique combination of skills to help a
wide variety of clients with many different voice concerns.  
Her approach combines providing a solid physiological
background while working to meet the specific artistic
needs of the client.  


Karen M. Mills, M.A., CCC-SLP

Ms. Mills, licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, holds a
Master's degree in Speech Pathology from the University of
Iowa, and a Master's degree in Linguistics from the
University of Indiana.  This dual educational background
has lead Ms. Mills to not only a lecture faculty position at
the University of Iowa, but she has also become a leading
Augmentative/Alternative Communication technician in the
SLP field.  Ms. Mills worked as a clinician in the University of
Iowa Voice Clinic, and has completed extensive study in
endoscopy technique and analysis.  As a linguist, Ms. Mills
has presented for TESOL (Teachers of English as a
Second Language) national conventions and is published
in numerous linguistic journals.

Karen serves as the Speech Pathology consultant for
Heartland Healthy Voices, and completes evaluations for
clients referred by an Otolaryngologist.  Additionally, Ms.
Mills is instrumental in helping to construct training goals for
singing students recovering from vocal disorders.