The Given
Voice
Program
Because everyone has something to say.
We develop AI-powered tools to expand communication options for individuals with traumatic brain injury and complex communication needs, giving people who rely on augmentative and alternative communication greater independence, personalization, and voice.
Why this program exists
This program is focused on expanding communication options for individuals with traumatic brain injury and complex communication needs, developing AI-powered tools that give people who rely on augmentative and alternative communication greater independence, personalization, and voice. The work began with a friendship and a simple conviction: the technology exists to do better. The program is the proof.
Projects
Framed Communication: Smart Glasses for AAC
Exploring the feasibility of integrating commercial smart glasses platforms with augmentative and alternative communication software and synthetic voice technology, developing a wearable communication pipeline that travels with the user.
Wearable Technology · AAC IntegrationBeyond Eye Gaze: Natural Speech Interfaces for Assistive Communication (Phase II)
Advancing sensor-based natural speech interfaces for individuals with motor and communication impairments, with a focus on piezoelectric and inertial sensor combinations as alternatives to eye-gaze communication. Designed in partnership with the College of Engineering through Penn State's Learning Factory program.
Learning Factory · College of EngineeringSynthetic Voice Project
Developing a personalized, portable synthetic voice for a program participant living with traumatic brain injury, creating a voice that is uniquely his own. This foundational project supports and informs all other program efforts.
ElevenLabs Partnership · Synthetic VoiceContext Engineering Project
Investigating context engineering approaches for augmentative and alternative communication applications, exploring how AI systems can better understand and respond to the communicative needs of AAC users across real-world environments.
IST Partnership · Graduate ResearchBeyond Eye Gaze: Sensor and Speech System (Phase I)
Established the foundational sensor and speech interface dataset and system architecture for natural speech alternatives to eye-gaze communication. Phase I work informs and underpins the current Phase II effort.
Learning Factory · College of EngineeringRAG for Speech-Language Pathology
A retrieval-augmented generation system supporting speech-language pathologists in searching and synthesizing clinical literature for AAC assessment and intervention. Completed with a poster presentation at the Penn State Undergraduate Exhibition for Research, Inquiry, and Creative Activity, April 22, 2026.
Clinical Research · Speech-Language PathologyProgram leadership
Jennifer McCauley
College of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State University
Jennifer McCauley is a faculty member in Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology, specializing in Human-Centered Computing and Social Informatics. She brings over two decades of enterprise technology leadership to her research and teaching, with deep experience in AI integration, cybersecurity, and large-scale program management.
Her work at the intersection of human-centered AI and assistive technology is grounded in the belief that the most important measure of a technology is what it makes possible for real people. The Given Voice Program grew directly from that conviction.
She holds a B.S. in Management Science and Information Systems from Penn State's Smeal College of Business and an M.S. in Information Sciences and Technology from Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology. She has published in ACM venues including SIGCITE, and her research examines how professionals and institutions adapt to rapid technological change.
Institutional partners
The Given Voice Program is made possible through the support of Penn State University and a growing network of institutional and industry partners committed to human-centered AI and assistive technology research.
The College of Information Sciences and Technology provides the academic home, institutional support, and research infrastructure for all program activities.
ist.psu.edu →Co-sponsoring the Beyond Eye Gaze sensor and speech system project in partnership with the College of Engineering, connecting interdisciplinary student teams to real assistive technology challenges.
Penn State →ElevenLabs has selected The Given Voice Program for their Education Impact Program, providing voice AI technology that is foundational to our synthetic voice work and the development of personalized communication tools.
Press & updates
The Given Voice Program — YouTube Feature
The LECOM Institute for Successful Living profiles the Given Voice Program, featuring Jennifer McCauley and the Penn State IST student team working with the LECOM therapy staff to advance AI-powered communication tools for Gabe Brown.
From Tragedy to Innovation: Gabe Brown's Journey to Finding His Voice
This feature profiles the human story at the center of The Given Voice Program, following Gabe Brown, a Penn State alumnus and software engineer who is both living with TBI and actively participating in the research, as the team develops sensor-driven AI tools that may one day give him and others a voice again.
Artificial Intelligence in Everyday Life a Valuable Resource for Everyone…Including Seniors
An international feature in the Italian journal Rivista Cortina examining the role of artificial intelligence in everyday life, including a mention of Jennifer McCauley's work in human-centered AI.
Get in touch
Interested in the work? We would love to connect.
Whether you are a researcher, clinician, journalist, or potential collaborator working at the intersection of human-centered AI, augmentative communication, or assistive technology, we welcome the conversation.
Because everyone has something to say.
The Given Voice Program is an applied AI research initiative at the College of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State University, focused on communication access, human agency, and the technology that connects them.