Diane Rehm to receive VERA award

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The host of American University’s WAMU-FM DC and NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show will receive the Voice Education Research Awareness (VERA) Award from The Voice Foundation on 6/3 in Philadelphia. The Voice Foundation presents the award annually to honor individuals selected for unusual interest in, and contribution to the field of voice communication. Past recipients include Dame Julie Andrews, Ben Vereen, Teddy Pendergrass, Dan Rather, and Walter Cronkite, among others.


In 1998, Rehm’s career nearly ended because of spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological voice disorder that causes strained, difficult speech. Rehm sought treatment, returned to the show, and called attention to the condition. She has openly shared her experiences with the disorder on air. In an April broadcast titled “Improving the Sound of Your Voice,” she explored the latest treatments for voice disorders with experts in the field.