Maureen Droney, The Recording Academy’s Managing Director/Producers & Engineers Wing and Recording Technology, is a former recording engineer for artists including George Benson, Whitney Houston, Herbie Hancock, John Hiatt and Carlos Santana. She graduated from California State University, San Francisco with a degree in Broadcast Communication Arts and has taught seminars in the theory and practice of audio engineering. Prior to joining The Recording Academy, Droney oversaw the Kiva Family of studios and its music-related businesses, which included the House of Blues Studios in Los Angeles and Memphis and East Iris Studios in Nashville. She is the former Los Angeles Editor of Mix magazine, author of the textbook MixMasters: Platinum Engineers Share Their Secrets for Success, and co-author of The Pensado Papers, a Hal Leonard-published book on the rise of the audio industry web phenomenon, Pensado’s Place.