Deirdre “D.D.” Michael Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Deirdre “D.D.” Michael received the Minnesota Speech-Language-Hearing Association (MNSHA) Lifetime Achievement Award at a virtual ceremony in April. Dr. Michael was recognized for her outstanding contributions to the professions in clinical service, education and/or research.

Dr. Michael has been a MNSHA member since 1992, and she has dedicated more than four decades to the profession of speech-language pathology and music education. As a singer and singing teacher, she was one of the initial few therapists that combined her expertise as a singer and speech-language pathologist. Beginning work for the U of M Department of Otolaryngology, her ability to quickly develop a rapport with voice patients, combined with her outstanding therapeutic skills, made her invaluable to the care provided in the clinic.

Dr. Michael and Dr. George “Shep” Goding founded the Lions Voice Clinic in 1992. Together, they developed an innovative model of interprofessional practice, where a physician and a speech-language pathologist evaluate a patient together. The result was improved communication among therapy team members and improved care for patients. The model they developed continues to be used at the University of Minnesota and has been adopted by other academic and clinical laryngology practices around the country. 

In 2002, Dr. Michael assisted in founding the MN Voice Specialists Colloquium (MNVoice) to further excellence in professional practices regarding voice disorders and voice performance, and she remains a member to this day. In 2014, through the National Associations of Teachers of Singing, she created the Vocapedia website with a focus on educating others on the science of a healthy singing voice.

She held the appointment of Assistant Clinical Specialist in the Department of Otolaryngology from 1995-2005, before becoming an Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology. She is one of the first therapists to attain that status in a medical subspecialty department at a Big Ten University.

She completed her bachelor’s degree in music education and psychology at Hamline University. She then earned her master’s degree in speech-language pathology and her Ph.D. in Communication Disorders with a concentration on voice science at the University of Minnesota (U of M).

She has co-authored 16 peer-reviewed publications, and has written four book chapters related to voice science. She also has served as a reviewer for journal articles, and an editor for scholarly and lay publications regarding the voice. Dr. Michael has given 58 invited presentations and countless other presentations at state, national, and international forums. Through her clinical practice, she has supervised at least one student intern every semester from 1992-2017. In addition to acting as co-director for the Lions Voice Clinic, she has also served as a co-director for the Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA) from 2019-2022.

Dr. Michael is known as a mentor and teacher to numerous students, inspiring them to pursue their personal goals in music and speech-language pathology. In 2008, she was awarded the "Spirit of MNSHA award." As a proud Lion, Dr. Michael has also tirelessly devoted her time to numerous events, clinic tours, and meetings for the Lions Clubs International and District 5M5. She was awarded the Lions 5M "Everyday Hero" award in January 2018.