Meet the
Sonaura
Team
Singing is not a solo sport. We believe in creating a vibrant community – to sharpen our skills, stretch our thinking and cheer us on towards our highest and best.
We’re a tribe founded on this idea:
We lift as we climb.
Meet the
Sonaura Team
Singing is not a solo sport. We believe in creating a vibrant community – to sharpen our skills, stretch our thinking and cheer us on towards our highest and best.
We’re a tribe founded on this idea: We lift as we climb.
Meet the
Sonaura Team
Singing is not a solo sport. We believe in creating a vibrant community – to sharpen our skills, stretch our thinking and cheer us on towards our highest and best.
We’re a tribe founded on this idea: We lift as we climb.
Founder | Singing Voice
Kristen Ruiz
Kristen Ruiz is a singing voice specialist, a vocal producer, the founder of Sonaura and the former director of NYU’s post-graduate advanced voice pedagogy program. She’s helped hundreds of professional singers, voice teachers and voice care workers all over the world learn to sing with unleashed vocal freedom, revel in the awesome uniqueness of their own vocal colors and coordinate the voice to immediately respond to their artistic whim in performance. Her clients range across genres and professional music industry niches.
Kristen has appeared as a vocalist in regional and historic halls, including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. She has been a featured soloist and creative director for a number of national tours and continues to pursue creative performance projects. As a researcher, Kristen is currently working on projects synthesizing voice pedagogy and adult learning and development theory.
Kristen helps SINGERS unlock their voice and unleash their own unique vocal qualities using a fusion of art and science – so you develop a technique that FEELS GREAT, delivers your ARTISTIC INTUITION, helps you OVERCOME old vocal hangups, GROWS with you, meets the versatile demands of PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE, and always sounds AUTHENTICALLY YOU. We are fiercely dedicated to HEALTHY & SUSTAINABLE vocalism.
As a trainer of trainers, Kristen works with VOICE TEACHERS and TEACHING ARTISTS to advance their skills – to confidently and effectively help singers across different vocal styles, voice types and developmental levels (grounded in the latest research in voice pedagogy). At the same time, she helps them delve into the next levels of their own artistry and vocalism – so they are growing as both singing artists and teachers.
Associate Teacher
Jeremy Aye
Jeremy Aye has spent the last 25 years as a Teaching Artist, consistently navigating the demanding expectations as a singer and educator. As a baritone, he is equally versatile in opera and musical theater, having performed with numerous opera companies and arts organizations throughout the United States and Europe. Beyond his solo work, Jeremy has served as an extra chorister with The Metropolitan Opera for 15 seasons, with over 470 performances under his belt.
His joy in singing is only matched by his profound love of teaching. Similar to his mentor and renowned vocal pedagogue, Barbara Doscher, teaching has become Jeremy’s raison d’être. Helping singers discover their most complete, flexible and authentic voices is an exciting and rewarding process. Yet rarely is that journey clear and smooth for the singer. As an active vocal artist, Jeremy understands the tremendous responsibility of caring for a voice (and its owner’s soul) along the way.
In addition to his 18-year tenure as adjunct voice professor at NYU Steinhardt, Jeremy currently serves on the voice faculty for Prague Summer Nights, a four-week summer music festival that produces recitals, concerts and operas in the Czech Republic. Equally comfortable teaching multiple vocal genres, his students range from emerging talent to industry professionals in the fields of opera, music theater, jazz, pop and singer/songwriters.
Speech Language Pathologist
Shelby Jackloski
Shelby Jackloski MM, MS, CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Singing Voice Specialist who brings both clinical expertise and artistic passion to voice education. She serves as professor of Applied Voice at Davidson College and performs with Carolina Voices Mainstage Choir and Charlotte Master Chorale.
With dual master’s degrees in Communication Disorders from Emerson College and Voice Pedagogy and Performance from Westminster Choir College, Shelby offers a unique blend of scientific understanding and musical artistry. Her performance experience spans collaborations with the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra to solo recitals from Carnegie Hall to Prague.
Shelby’s approach centers on helping each singer discover and cultivate their authentic voice through evidence-based techniques, deep anatomical knowledge, and genuine care for the whole person behind the voice.
Speech Language Pathologist
Dr. Geneva Mayne
Dr. Geneva Mayne, SLPD, CCC-SLP is a New York and Connecticut licensed speech-language pathologist and a NCVS trained vocologist. She has over fifteen years experience habilitating and rehabilitating communication skills throughout the lifespan. Dr. Mayne recently completed doctoral studies at Kean University (2022), where her research interests included health and health care disparities in persons with communication disorders, psychosocial risk factors in patients with voice disorders and trauma-informed care. During her studies, she completed a clinical internship at the Lions Voice Clinic and a voice research internship at the Emory Voice Center. Dr. Mayne is founder and owner of Parts of Speech Therapy in Bronxville, NY. She is also a writer at The Informed SLP and co-host of the Agentic Voice Podcast.
Associate Teacher
Stephanie Meadowcroft
Stephanie Meadowcroft is a Philadelphia and New York City-based singer, actress, and voice teacher. Growing up in Bel Air, Maryland, she began taking voice and piano lessons at the Maryland Conservatory of Music at 10 years old. In May of 2016, Stephanie graduated Magna Cum Laude from NYU with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance: Music Theatre. Most recently, she received her Advanced Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy from Sonaura in 2021. She is thrilled to be able to bring together years of personal experience and professional study to help singers develop their unique voice. Some of Stephanie’s favorite performance credits include Elsa in The Sound of Music, Mary in A Wonderful Life, and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened…Forum. As a singer, she has gotten to perform with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and travel internationally with The American Bombshells. Currently, Stephanie lives between NYC and Philly with her husband, her two dogs, Gunther and Burton, and two kitty cats, Olivia and Gracie.
Advanced Voice Pedagogy Teaching Fellow
Olithea Anglin
Olithea Anglin is our Teaching Fellow, a dynamic vocal artist who brings both artistic excellence and deep teaching wisdom to our studio community. Fresh from her Carnegie Hall debut and MoMA residency with the acclaimed Burt Sugar Arkestra Chamber, Olithea is a creative force in the world of “experimental soul.”
Her artistry spans her debut EP “Long Day’s Journey” to her meditation work “Cosmic Church,” showcasing her versatility as both performer and sound healing facilitator. Olithea’s music weaves together classical training with R&B influences, creating powerful works that celebrate resilience, identity, and authentic expression.
Olithea uses her professional performance experience and her training in evidence-based pedagogy to help teaching-artists integrate elite voice development strategies into their practice – with soul and vibrant joy.
Administrative Assistant & Social Media Coordinator
Alyssa Ruiz
Alyssa Ruiz is our Administrative Assistant and Social Media Coordinator, bringing vibrant creativity and organizational excellence to everything she touches. Currently pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Media and Design at the University of Connecticut (graduating 2027), Alyssa has been an integral part of the Sonaura team since 2022.
With her keen eye for visual storytelling and natural gift for connection, Alyssa creates the beautiful social media content that showcases our singers’ journeys and keeps our community inspired. Behind the scenes, she ensures our studio runs seamlessly, managing schedules and communications with warmth and enthusiasm.
Alyssa’s creative talents span graphic design, video editing, and digital media, while her heart for service shines through her leadership roles in campus ministry and volunteer work with children. She brings both technical skill and genuine care to every project, helping our studio community feel seen, supported, and celebrated.
This captures her dual role while emphasizing the creative and relational qualities that matter most in a voice studio environment – someone who not only handles logistics but truly understands and celebrates the artistic journey our singers are on.
Interested in training with
Sonaura?
If you’d like to learn more about how our singers are creating lasting vocal transformation – without straining, getting stuck in their heads or working harder…
Or if you’d like to advance your skills as a voice teaching specialist using cutting-edge, evidence-based practices…
Click the link below!