About Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker:

Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker is the founder and principal of The Whittaker Group, a corporate speech and communication consulting business in Boston, MA. She has over 25 years of experience as a speech-language pathologist, with a specialty in regional and foreign accent modification. Her Boston RULES course at Boston Casting has been featured on The Today Show, NECN, WGBH, WBUR, Fox news, The Boston Globe, and The Boston Herald.

She is currently developing training materials for Japanese physicians in clinical and research settings through a collaboration with Yodosha Publishing in Japan.

Feinstein-Whittaker is an adjunct professor at Bunker Hill Community College, where she teaches accent and communication training programs onsite as part of the Workforce Development Program.

She is also the co-founder and principal, with Lynda Katz Wilner, of ESL RULES, a company devoted to the development of pronunciation and communication training materials and programs for nonnative English speakers.

As a trainer/consultant, she has worked with high level employees from a wide variety of industries including medical, financial, legal, technological, manufacturing and business to help unleash the potential of a diverse workforce through improved communication.

Respected leaders in their field, Ms. Whittaker and Ms. Wilner present often at international professional conferences including ASHA and TESOL. Their published materials are used by medical centers, colleges and universities, and language schools around the country and internationally.

Ms. Whittaker holds a Master’s Degree from Boston University in Communication Disorders, and a BS from Ithaca College in Speech-Language Pathology. She is state-licensed (Massachusetts) and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

PUBLICATIONS

Ms. Feinstein-Whittaker was featured in the April-June 2005 issue of Business Spotlight. “Speaking up for Yourself,” appeared in this German publication designed to help business professionals use English for international communication.

Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker and Lynda Katz Wilner were regular contributing guest columnists to the India New England Newspaper from 2006-2007. Visit www.indianewengland.com and click on archived issues.

An article entitled “Keys to Optimal Patient Care,” appeared in Advance for Healthcare Careers Annual Resource Guide and in ADVANCE for Speech-Language Pathologists in 2008.

“The Communication Component,” by Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker and Lynda Katz Wilner appeared in the February 2008 edition of Advance for Nurses.

Lynda Katz Wilner and Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker contributed an article, “Accenting the Positive,” to the April 2008 issue of Language Magazine, a publication of he Journal of Communication and Education.

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

“Accenting the Positive: Simple Tips for Accent Modification,” appeared in www.selfgrowth.com in 2009.

PRESENTATIONS

Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker, Lynda Katz Wilner, and Lorna Sikorski presented “Integrating Language, Accent, and Culture in the Medical Community,” at the 2005 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention in San Diego, CA.

At the 2006 American Speech-Language-Hearing Convention in Miami, Florida, Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker, Lynda Katz Wilner, and Lorna Sikorski presented, “Designing Culture-Savvy Accent Training for Medical Professionals.”

“Using Scripts in Accent Training to Enhance Conversational Fluency,” was a joint presentation by Ms. Feinstein-Whittaker and Ms. Wilner at the 2007 MD TESOL Convention.

Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker, Lynda Katz Wilner, and Lorna Sikorski presented, “Conversational Skills: A Critical Component in Corporate and Healthcare Communication,” at the 2008 Annual American Speech-Language-Hearing (ASHA) Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker and Lynda Katz Wilner presented, “ Using Scripts in Accent Training to Enhance Conversational Fluency,” at the International TESOL Convention in New York City in April 2008.

Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker and Lynda Katz Wilner presented, “Accent Modification for Faculty: Striving for Communication Excellence,” a one-day workshop for research and clinical faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital in August 2009. Their presentation focused on Ten Tips for Effective Communication.

Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker and Lynda Katz Wilner presented, “Innovative Techniques to Teach Stress and Intonation,” at the 2009 MD TESOL Conference.

Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker and Marjorie North (retired Director of the Northeastern University Speech Department), presented, “ Effective Communication Skills for Non-Native English Speakers,” at Quinsigamond Community College, in Worcester, MA in April, 2009.

ESL RULES products were showcased at the upcoming International TESOL Conference to be held in March, 2010. The exhibitors will also be presenting, “English for Medical Professionals-Assessments and Activities.”

PRODUCTS

MIAE – Mastering Idioms of American English with Lorna Sikorski, 2005 (www.ldsassoc.com)

RULES – (Rules for Using Linguistic Elements of Speech) with Lynda Katz Wilner, 2006-2007 (www.eslrules.com)

Medically Speaking RULES with Lynda Katz Wilner, 2007 (www.eslrules.com)

RULES BY THE SOUND with Lynda Katz Wilner, 2009 (www.eslrules.com)