Nicole Gress · Undead Voice

Nicole Gress spent years as a speech-language pathologist watching the same thing happen. A trans patient would come to her for voice care, she would use every clinical tool she had, and it still wasn't enough. What actually helped, she noticed, was already circulating in her own community.

So she left, and built the curriculum the system wasn't going to build.

Today Undead Voice is the largest global community of trans voice learners, and Gress is its CEO. She answered our questions from San Francisco.

As a kid, I said ballerina or vet. Really, I wanted a creative life, movement, and a bigger stage than the Midwest. Undead Voice is how I do that now, using that same energy to build and iterate something that matters.

Undead Voice helps trans and gender diverse people transition their physical voice so it aligns with their identity. We do this through a trans-led curriculum, live coaching, and community support, and we partner with employers, healthcare organizations, and nonprofits to bring voice training and vocal allyship into the workplace.

We began concept and buildout in late 2019, developed and beta tested the curriculum through 2020, and launched our signature program, Undead Voice Lab, in fall 2020. We launched Jumpstart, our free trans voice training program, at the beginning of 2024.

In traditional medical settings, I kept hitting the same wall. As a speech-language pathologist, I used every clinical tool I had, and my patients still were not getting what they needed. They began bringing me YouTube clips made by other trans people who had tried speech therapy, found it incomplete, and started sharing what actually helped.

When I brought those ideas to colleagues, I was told they were unproven or inappropriate, even though similar techniques were already accepted in voice work for singers. That mismatch told me the system was not going to evolve fast enough for our community, so I left.

I spent six months retraining myself outside the clinic. I took voice acting and singing lessons, vocal pedagogy courses, and somatic breathing work, then listened closely to what our community was already doing. I combined those insights with my background in neuroplasticity and adult speech relearning to build a structured curriculum that creates real, habitual change, not just temporary tricks.

That became Undead Voice: a trans-led program that changes the physical instrument of the voice, pairs technique with coaching and community, and, importantly, brings in vocal allyship for workplaces and families so people can use the voices they worked hard to build.

The moments that stay with me are the small ones. Someone answers the phone without bracing. A member sings at their wedding in their own voice. A teen who went quiet starts speaking again at school. An employee comes out at work because they finally feel confident speaking up. A parent says, "My kid found their voice with you, and now I get to hear who they really are."

That is the impact that matters most. Not just changing how someone sounds, but changing how they see themselves and how they move through the world.

Demand for voice training in the trans community has grown faster than healthcare systems can keep up. There are plenty of referrals for voice training, but not enough qualified providers, which leaves people waiting years for resources they need today.

In our surveys, about 80% report access to gender-affirming healthcare, yet fewer than 7% have access to voice care. As a result, demand for services outside employer insurance has surged, and our community grew from roughly 10,000 to 100,000+ people across 20+ countries in the last 18 months. It is a good problem to have, and it meant we had to scale fast and smart.

How we responded: We launched a Partnership Program with nonprofits, community centers, employers, and healthcare organizations so people can access training where they already are. We rolled out Jumpstart, our free three-week virtual masterclass, to meet urgent needs quickly and at scale. We added vocal allyship training so teams and families normalize voice change and people feel comfortable using their voice. We grew the coaching bench and codified our methods into clear playbooks, with tight feedback loops to keep coaching quality high while we expand.

We know what works for our community, and we deliver it better, faster, and more affordably than anyone else. We can say that because we are the largest global community of trans voice learners by far, and every improvement is driven by real outcomes and constant feedback.

Our 5 Pillars curriculum creates true habit change while preserving individuality, giving people control over how their voice feels, sounds, and holds up all day so they can speak up in meetings, take calls without bracing, and show up confidently in daily life. It is faster because there is no waitlist, and the program takes just six months to complete, with the biggest shifts in the first four months. Traditional weekly lessons often mean a wait of one to two years to start and 18 to 36 months to complete.

Our program is more affordable because our virtual, scalable model keeps costs down. Private weekly lessons can approach $30,000 out of pocket over time, while Undead Voice Lab is $1,999 for lifetime membership, and Jumpstart is free through partners. Plus, we offer need-based scholarships and have awarded more than $1.4 million to trans people who need support.

Puzzles and books. I grew up with a puzzle on the coffee table and I am a completionist, so once I start, I want to finish. I get the same way with a good novel, so I try not to start one right before a deadline.

Japan! I love the contrast of neon Tokyo with quiet forests just a train ride away, and the food is unreal. Ramen is my forever favorite food, and living in San Francisco, I'm spoiled by all the great Japanese food. We even named our golden retriever Ramen!

In this moment of great upheaval, change, and uncertainty, anchor in community. Build with your community, not for it. Share your playbooks, swap intros, pass the mic, and open rooms for each other. Co-design, center access, and let real feedback guide your next step. Support is not a side project; it is the operating system that keeps us going.

To my trans and gender-diverse peers: We have always been here, and we will always be here. Find your people and let them hold you up. Your voice is not a liability. It is your way home. And if you are still on the path to falling in love with your voice, we cannot wait to meet you.