Shelagh Davies, MSc'75

Shelagh Davies, MSc’75

Our voice should match the person we are inside.  If it doesn’t, we feel discomfort; distress. – Shelagh Davies

Helping singers regain their voices and transgendered people find their voices are two of the job satisfactions for UBC Alumna Shelagh Davies. (MSc’75).  Shelagh is a Registered Speech-Language Pathologist, a Clinical Assistant Professor, and researcher in the Graduate School of Audiology and Speech Sciences at UBC. She has been practicing for over 25 years.  In the early days she established speech-language pathology services at Lions Gate Hospital and Burnaby General Hospital, then went on to  open her own private practice.  She now specializes in working with the voice and its disorders and regularly sees performers, teachers, public speakers, those living with Parkinson’s, and individuals with issues of gender and voice.

Seeing clients with their ‘ah-ha’ moment as they grasp a concept or understand a technique is what motivates this alumna to continue in her work and research.

As a singer and performer herself, Shelagh is familiar with the struggles and challenges of performance, but as a speech-language pathologist she understands the science and medical aspects as well.  She finds a perfect balance in her profession, blending her passion with her knowledge.

Research on transgendered voice is still in the beginning stages but Shelagh is seen as a leader in the field not only in Vancouver and BC but also internationally. In 2006 she co-wrote best practice guidelines for BC clinicians on transgender speech feminization/masculinization.  She is currently working on an international research project to assess the validity and reliability of a ‘self evaluation of voice questionnaire’ that she previously developed.  Currently there is no standard tool that allows transgender people to evaluate their own voices so this questionnaire will be important both clinically and for research. There have already been several requests for it to be translated into different languages.

Shelagh holds regular vocal rehabilitation and training workshops for singers and a speech and voice training program for transsexual women.  Looking ahead Shelagh hopes to develop a workshop for singing teachers about aspects of voice science relevant to the singing voice.  She is also looking forward to developing a program to train other speech-language pathologists in working with transgendered voice.

(If you would like more information on Shelagh Davies, you can visit her website at http://www.shelaghdavies.com/ )

Written by: Marisa Moody

Carol Herbert, MD’69

When Carol Herbert, MD ’69 looks back on her life as a child, she remembers that she didn’t always want to be a doctor, let alone a Dean.  At the young age of six, Herbert enjoyed writing and thought that she would be an author but instead, she almost became a first grade ‘drop out’.  Unable to ‘run in’ for skip, Herbert stayed home with a stomach ache.  So how did Carol Herbert go from being an almost first grade ‘drop-out’ to Dean of Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry?  Herbert’s older sister ‘made the diagnosis’ and helped her to master the art of skipping; in the process she learned that she could be anything that she wanted to be.

Carol Herbert’s resume is definitely impressive.  She graduated from UBC with a Bachelors of Science in biochemistry in 1966, conjoint with first year Medicine, at the young age of 19.  Visionary instructors such as Dr. David Hardwick, Dr. Mavis Teasdale, Dr. Margaret Mullinger, Dr. Patrick Rebbeck, and Dr. Bill Webber became Herbert’s role models and mentors.  It was Dr. Hardwick’s ability to think long-term which influenced Carol Herbert in her path within the medical profession.

Herbert had originally planned on specializing in Child Psychiatry, but while working as an intern, she had a baby which delayed the start of her residency by a few months.  During that time, she worked locums and fell in love with family practice to which, in those days, she had not had any exposure to yet.  Family practice was rewarding because it allowed her to have constant contact and interaction with patients and combined her passion for the sciences, arts, and humanities.  It also allowed her to balance career and family commitments.

After dedicating herself to family practice research and teaching at UBC and chairing the department for ten years, Herbert knew that she wanted to make a bigger difference and felt that her leadership style which promoted collaboration, diversity and constructive criticism, could be useful.  Carol moved to London, Ontario when she was appointed Dean of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario.

It wasn’t an easy decision to leave British Columbia.  Leaving her extended family, practice, UBC, and the beautiful scenery was heart-wrenching but the opportunity to be able to facilitate change on a large scale was impossible to resist.  Herbert’s previous experience working in situations of complexity with multiple partners in research, practice and education settings prepared her for the some of the challenges she would face as Dean.  Always keeping her values at the core, Herbert was able to attract a major donor which resulted in the naming of Faculty as the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, expand the School with the establishment of a campus in  Windsor, double student enrollment, double  medical research funding,  and introduce an undergraduate medical sciences degree.  For 11 years, her achievements as Dean left an indelible mark with the school as well as its students and alumni.

One year into her new chapter of life, currently a visiting professor at UBC, Herbert still stresses the importance of social accountability and makes a point of connecting with her students.  It’s about asking the right questions, engaging in self-direction and believing that you can be anything you want to be.

Written by: Kira Peterson