Speech Technology Magazine Mourns the Passing of Michele Masterson

The editors of Speech Technology magazine and SmartCustomerService.com are deeply saddened to announce the death of our coworker and friend Michele Masterson. Michele passed away on Friday morning, July 10, due to complications following a massive heart attack that she had suffered nearly two weeks earlier.

Her colleagues grieve not only at the passing of such a wonderful person but also for the loss felt by her family and friends.

Michele had an accomplished career in journalism that spanned more than 10 years. Prior to joining Information Today Inc., she wrote for some of the largest business and technology publishers in the United States, including United Business Media, Primedia, Ziff Davis Media, and CNN.

She started working for Information Today Inc. in November 2011, as a staff writer for Speech Technology magazine. In 2013, Michele took on an additional role as a founding editor of Speech Technology magazine’s sister publication, SmartCustomerService.com. Michele quickly proved to be an instrumental part of our Speech Technology and SmartCustomerService.com editorial teams.

She had an appreciation for valuable, cutting-edge technology, especially speech technology. This showed in her articles. When writing about technology, it's easy to get caught up in the speeds and feeds of things. But Michele was more fascinated by technology's ability to create human connections.

She wrote about this in her very last Speech Technology magazine blog post, "The Power of Voice Gives Me Chills." "Reporting about the commercial side of speech technology is my bread and butter, but what truly excites me is when I read how speech touches people’s lives," she wrote. "Academic breakthroughs that empower the connection between people at the most basic human level makes my day. I silently cheer when I see new speech technology in assistive devices and apps to help the deaf and blind."

To get excited about technology that helps people with disabilities speaks to Michele’s selfless character. We will sorely miss this about her, as well as her professionalism, good sense of humor, compassion, and friendship.

Michele leaves behind a mother, a sister, an aunt, and six cats.

As Michele was an ardent animal rights advocate and supporter, Information Today Inc. encourages anyone who wishes to honor her to make a donation to The Humane Society of Greater Savannah (http://www.humanesocietysav.org/).