Founder Story

Vocalis means "to give voice." In Latin, it means "spoken aloud." In our movement, it means more: to make visible what has been silenced, to make heard what has been overlooked, and to give shape to the things young people have always carried but rarely been asked to share.

We don’t just teach expression. We teach construction—of story, of solution, of self.

Our symbol? A tree.
Rooted in truth. Reaching for the future. A living system that grows only when every branch supports another. Like mentorship, like community, like change.

Vocalis wasn’t born in a classroom. It was born in a boardroom.

As a student representative sitting in school district meetings after the pandemic, I watched teachers, dedicated, exhausted, and underpaid. I saw some students, especially in middle school, drift further from focus and purpose.

I spoke with over thirty educators—teachers, administrators, mentors—and asked what students needed. They didn’t ask for grades or apps. They asked for a connection. For motivation. For a pipeline of mentorship and meaning.

That’s when Vocalis began.