Interested in starting your own journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Samantha Elandary, Founder and CEO of Parkinson Voice Project, located in Richardson, TX, USA.

What's your organization, and who are your members?

The organization I run is “Parkinson Voice Project,” a nonprofit speech therapy clinic dedicated to helping people with Parkinson’s preserve their speech and communication. We developed a specialized treatment for this patient population called “SPEAK OUT!® & The LOUD Crowd®.” Parkinson Voice Project treats patients throughout Texas in our clinic and online. We also train speech-language pathologists and graduate students across the U.S. and abroad in our speech therapy program.

Tell us about yourself

I have been a speech-language pathologist for 30 years. I became interested in the field of speech pathology as I was born with a cleft palate and had several years of speech therapy as a child. In 2005, I founded Parkinson Voice Project to make quality speech treatment accessible to people with Parkinson’s. This is a unique patient population in that people with Parkinson’s require a lifetime of speech therapy. In other words, they never “graduate” from speech treatment. They need continuous follow-up, practice, and encouragement.

What's your biggest accomplishment as an organization?

I am most proud of the fact that Parkinson Voice Project has not charged patients for its speech therapy services since 2008. Our program is funded primarily through donations from grateful patients and their families.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being an organization?

The most challenging part of running a business is finding employees who are as passionate as you are about the mission. We are fortunate at Parkinson Voice Project to have a team of compassionate, intelligent, and highly dedicated women.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow an organization today?

Here are my three tips for starting, running, and growing a nonprofit organization:

  1. Make sure there is not another nonprofit organization already committed to the mission you’re hoping to achieve. In the nonprofit world, we shouldn’t duplicate resources.
  2. Stay focused on your mission and avoid the temptation to veer off into areas that are not directly related to your purpose and vision.
  3. Continually improve and search for ways to be even more efficient. Employ the “stop doing” strategy described by Jim Collins in his business book, Good To Great. In other words, stop doing anything that is not bringing you closer to reaching your goals.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Parkinson Voice Project is the only nonprofit organization of its kind in the world. Our vision is to make our SPEAK OUT! & LOUD Crowd program is accessible to people with Parkinson’s worldwide.

Where can people find you and your group?

Website: https://www.parkinsonvoiceproject.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkinsonVoiceProject
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkinsonvoiceproject/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkinson-voice-project/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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