AV/IT Amplifier

In this episode of The AV/IT Amplifier Podcast, Ryan Gray sits down with Zach Moss, Project Manager in the IT department at Yavapai College, during a live recording at the Arizona Community College Technical Conference in Tucson, Arizona. Zach talks about what project management actually means inside higher education IT, where the work can stretch from campus remodel conversations to ERP replaceme...

In this one off InfoComm 2026 episode, the tables turn as Laura and Rebecca from Igloo Vision take over the microphones and interview Ryan Gray for a change. What starts as a lighthearted booth conversation quickly turns into a surprisingly honest discussion about recognition, community leadership, HETMA’s future, the pressure of being seen by others, and why the best technology is often the kind...

This week on the AV/IT Amplifier, Ryan continues the conversation with Philipp Gude of GUDE Systems, moving beyond the product conversation and into the people, personality, and philosophy behind the company. The episode starts with the most important technical matter of all: how exactly Americans are supposed to pronounce “Gude,” why “good” works just fine, and how quickly a strong product name c...

In this episode of The AV/IT Amplifier Podcast, Ryan Gray sits down with Philipp Gude of GUDE Systems during the final run up to InfoComm 2026. Philipp shares the story of GUDE as a family company, founded by his father more than 35 years ago, and explains how that structure shapes the company’s approach to decision making, long term investment, and customer relationships. The conversation quickly...

Chris Kelly returns to The AV/IT Amplifier Podcast for week two with Ryan Gray, and the conversation picks up right where the first one left off: part Higher Ed AV Media strategy, part neurodivergent team therapy session, part comedy riff about baldness, gifts, and why some people should absolutely not be forced to sing an improvised jingle on command. Chris, Senior IT Support Specialist at Creigh...

Chris Kelly returns to The AV/IT Amplifier Podcast for a conversation about media, volunteerism, accessibility, and what it means to help amplify voices across the higher education AV community. Chris, Senior IT Support Specialist at Creighton University, HETMA Advisory Board Chair, and newly announced Managing Editor for Higher Ed AV Media, talks with host Ryan Gray about how his deep engagement...

Mike McHugh is back for Part 2, and this half of the conversation opens up into something bigger than a technical discussion. Ryan and Mike talk about what it really takes to stay current in a field that never stops moving, from relying on trusted partners and professional communities to making room, when possible, for demos, articles, and the constant work of learning. They also dig into AV over...

In Episode 133 of AV/IT Amplifier, Ryan Gray talks with Mike McHugh of Goshen College about what it means to build a career, and a legacy, at a small institution where everybody knows everybody and the work is always personal. Mike shares what it has been like to spend more than two decades at a 900 student college in northern Indiana, doing everything from classroom technology support and system...

Recorded live as the Friday keynote on Day 3 of the HETMA Virtual Conference, this AV/IT Amplifier crosspost pulls a fast moving hybrid conversation from sister show HETMA Presents, combining #Roadto10K and This Month in Higher Ed AV into one session. Host Ryan Gray is joined by Britt Yenser, Tim Van Woeart, and Gina Sansivero to unpack the month’s community theme, Time to Level Up, and get specif...

Ryan is back on the ISE 2026 show floor for Part 2 with Tom Segers, an AV professional supporting Thomas More University of Applied Sciences in Belgium across multiple campuses. Tom shares what it looks like when a hobby becomes a career, and why being detail minded is not just a personality trait, it is survival in higher ed AV. From WhatsApp culture in Europe to the very real complexity of LED w...

Recorded live at the HETMA booth on the show floor of ISE 2026, Ryan sits down with Belgium based higher ed AV leader Tom Segers from Thomas More University of Applied Sciences. They talk about what it looks like to support AV at scale with a tiny central team across multiple campuses, and why global community matters when higher education needs a louder voice in an industry that often defaults to...

Isaac Abbs returns for week two and the conversation leans hard into the human side of senior leadership: how an introvert survives a job that demands constant presence, how you build buy in like a coach building a locker room, and how you create real moments of recognition when your team is the one taking the calls and absorbing the heat. Along the way, Isaac shares what he has learned about gett...

Ryan Gray is joined by  Isaac Abbs , Chief Information Officer at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona. Isaac walks through what the CIO role really demands in higher ed—leadership, clarity, and the ability to solve problems at a level that changes outcomes for the institution. He reflects on his career path (public sector to higher ed and back), why the CIO role appealed to him early, and wh...

Week two with Thomas goes deeper into the inner mechanics of growth: how confidence gets built (and rebuilt) in real time, how “needing people” can be both a strength and a signal, and what it looks like to stop outsourcing your own decisions. Ryan and Thomas talk candidly about learning to move forward without requiring constant external reassurance—and how that shift changes the way you show up...

After a stretch of inconsistency, Ryan kicks off 2026 with a simple promise: the show is back, and the conversations are the fuel. In this in-person episode, he sits down with Thomas Eastlack , a familiar face at Yavapai College who recently moved from the IT service desk into a newly created role supporting HR technology . Thomas unpacks the shift from reactive “break/fix” work to proactive syste...

We close out 2025 with a listen back to some of our favorite guests this year and their answers to the questions they wish to be asked. Stay tuned for new episodes of The AV/IT Amplifier Podcast in 2026! Connect with Ryan @Ryan_A_Gray https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanagray ryan@higheredav.com Voiceover by Chris Dechter Have feedback or guest ideas? Let us know! This show is a production of Higher E...

Recorded on-site in Austin, this cross-conversation episode (in partnership with RTM Business Group’s Inside Innovation) brings together fast takes from the Fall Higher Education CIO Congress. We open with RTM’s Mica Spanos on how listening to practitioners—and getting them into the same room—drives a program that’s useful in a world that never quite calms down. Cole McFarren (University of Arizon...

Sometimes leadership doesn’t begin with a grand vision—it begins with a text. In this introspective Gray Matter Moment, Ryan Gray records from the shores of Puerto Peñasco during his family’s annual October trip and reflects on a recent experience that brought personal vulnerability into the spotlight. He had been invited to co-lead a session at Yavapai College’s “Students of Leadership” retreat,...

BC Hatchett returns for week two with a laid-back, life-and-leadership conversation that ranges from higher-ed purpose to… blacksmithing. We kick off with Halloween costumes (the Dude abides), detour through first jobs and Louisville summers on a greenskeeping cart, and land on why twenty years at Vanderbilt still feels mission-right. BC talks candidly about what keeps him in higher ed: watching s...

This week, Ryan catches up with BC Hatchett, Director of Classroom Technology at Vanderbilt University and co-founder of HETMA. They talk about shifting from “manager” to “leader,” handing the reins to the next crew, and why letting go (and then cheering from the sideline) is a healthy sign of organizational growth. BC also keeps it real about the pace of higher ed—no more “quiet summers”—and how...

Special Crossover this Wednesday - Your podcast with Ryan fix will be sated! Today on HETMA Presents..., Ryan sits down with David Lopez, Global Director of Education Strategy at ScreenBeam, to unpack how wireless display has evolved from a convenience feature to a core building block for learning spaces. David traces the roots from Intel WiDi and Miracast to today’s multi-OS reality (Windows, mac...

In this second half of Ryan’s conversation with Dustin Myers of John A. Logan College and HETMA, the discussion dives into the balance of professional commitments, personal life, and community involvement in higher education technology. Dustin shares how his early InfoComm experiences transformed from solitary tech browsing to full-blown community immersion, illustrating the power of connection an...

Dustin Myers—Manager of Technology Support at John A. Logan College and HETMA’s two-year at-large board member—joins Ryan to talk about running lean teams that still deliver big results. He breaks down how a 10–11 person IT org moved from rigid silos to a customer-focused, cross-trained culture, and why communication is the real glue when you’re juggling desktop support, classrooms, theaters, even...

In this Gray Matter Moment, Ryan takes a thoughtful pause from guest conversations to explore a concept that’s been personally transformative for him: radical acceptance. Sparked by a presentation at Yavapai College’s convocation, he reflects on the psychological roots of the idea, its practical applications in leadership and technology, and how it connects to everyday challenges across higher edu...

Presented without comment.