Mike Pedersen, the Audiovisual Experience Manager at Iowa State University since the summer of 2018, brings over 30 years of experience in the engineering industry with a focus on the professional audiovisual (AV) sector for the past 25 years. Leading the Audiovisual Experience Team (AVXT) at Iowa State, Mike oversees the maintenance of AV systems in over 200 university classrooms and provides consulting, installation, and repair services across campus. The AVXT won the 2023 Higher Ed AV Team of the Year with Higher Ed AV Media.  Recognized as an expert in the field, he holds both Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) certifications in Design (CTS-D) and Installation (CTS-I), a distinction shared by only approximately 700 individuals worldwide. In 2018, AVIXA named him CTS Holder of the Year.  Mike currently serves on the Membership Committee and Certification Renewal Committee with AVIXA, and he previously served as an elected member of the Certification Steering Committee and chair of the Technology Mangers Council.  He currently serves on the board of directors with the Educational Technology Collaborative (ETC) as the Membership Committee and Program Committee.  He has previously served extensively with HETMA including as the 1-year at large board member.  Before joining Iowa State, he spent almost 19 years at Mechdyne Corporation, contributing to various roles including engineering manager, R&D, and pre-sales engineering. Outside of his professional endeavors, Mike actively volunteers in STEM education, serving on the governor's North Central Iowa Regional STEM Advisory Board. A 1994 graduate of Iowa State University, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with distinction and a minor in History and is working toward a Master of Engineering in Engineering Management degree.

AVIXA Chairman of the Board

Theater safety expert. Decades of experience in live events, touring, AVL design for performing arts spaces and educational venues. 

Up through May 2022, I managed the AV Engineering & Operations team at the University of North Georgia. We maintained multiple campuses of classrooms with control systems in each and we worked with a team of support technicians who handle work on incident management while we handled incident escalations as well as problem management, change management, and request fulfillment (to use the ITIL vernacular). In May 2022, I became a Design Engineer 1 for AVI-SPL, based out of the Atlanta, GA office. I worked with the Account Managers to design systems for customers prior to sales, then worked with the post sales team once a system is purchased. Over the next two years, I was promoted to Design Engineer 2. In October 2024, I became an Engineering Manager for AVI-SPL, managing the Design Engineers and Project Engineers in the Atlanta, GA office.

Jesse Anderson is the Associate Director AV Architecture at Tufts University, leading the team responsible audiovisual installations and service delivery throughout the University system. Jesse has been in Pro AV for over 40 years, and in that time has done front of house engineering, 35mm motion picture projection, multi-image slide shows, audio and video editing, arena and stadium sound design, and group/team management.  For the past 15 years, he has held positions as an AV Director in Higher Education and has great experience in designing and installing AV systems that ensure that pedagogical intents are met.  Jesse is a past chair of AVIXA’s Technology Managers Council, is a member of the Standards Steering Committee, has been a task group member on several standards, has been a mentor for the Woman’s Council, and has volunteered as a Subject Matter Expert for various AVIXA iniatives.

Audio Visual Subject Matter Expert AVIXA CTS, CTS-D & CTS-I Certified CEDIA CIT, IST, ESC, ESC-D, ESC-T & ESC-N Certified 30yrs of AV design engineering, installation, system commissioning, project management & troubleshooting experience for both commercial and residential AV with demonstrated, extensive competency across a broad spectrum of AV applications, for example; corporate, banking & finance, hospitality, education, medical, government, military, transportation hubs, casino & gaming, performance theatre, live entertainment venues, theme parks, museums, stadia, high-end residential & private cinema, and royal palaces. Global exposure designing & delivering AV projects in 16 countries across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East Regions. Extensively involved as an AV Subject Matter Expert developing AV Standards and international certification examination questions for both AVIXA & CEDIA. Australian & French dual citizen, currently divides time between Hong Kong & Vietnam.

People + Process + Space + Technology = COLLABORATION

Me considero una persona apasionada por lo que hace, me gusta trabajar y solucionar problemas.  Tengo afinidad con la fotografía, la música y las artes en general.  Dada mi formación profesional y el caminar en esta industria he aprendido a diseñar sistemas AV que generan experiencias de usuarios, que satisfacen necesidades y con una rápida adopción tecnológica.  Soy capaz de liderar y motivar equipos en torno a metas concretas, siempre preocupado del crecimiento del área como también de cada uno de sus miembros en particular.