Higher Ed AV Awards Finalists: The People
The 2026 Higher Ed AV Awards are coming to #InfoComm25 this Monday at the Cabaret Theater at the Westgate Hotel, on Monday, June 15, 2026! The finalists for the “People Awards”are out. Help us congratulate our esteemed finalists who helped define the higher ed vertical over the previous year! Winners will be announced live at the event. Limited seating is still available on the Higher Ed AV Awards website at: https://www.higheredavawards.com. (Nominees are listed in alphabetical order below.)
AV Professional of the Year
Stehen Ashby, Riverside Community College
Jake Bevan, Oxford University
Elizabeth Fellendorf, University at Buffalo
Ryan Gray, Yavapai College
Teddy Murphy, University of Pikeville
Rising Star of the Year
Kyle Bell, St. Petersburg College
Isaac Bontrager, Goshen College
Andy Contreras, Riverside City College
Dustin Myers, John A. Logan College
Michael Okumu, Texas Tech University
AV Support Person of the Year
Kenny Coeck, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences
Robel Gebraslassie, Northwestern University
Brittany Mullins, University of Pikeville
Neesha Sookoo, University of Trinidad and Tobago
Anthony Zaldana, St. Petersburg College
AV Team of the Year
St. Petersburg College
Thomas More University of Applied Sciences
University of Illinois College of Medicine
University of Pikeville
Yavapai College
Higher Ed Ally of the Year
Steve Borho, Ramcom Communications
Aaron Peterson, Mechdyne
Scott Sanders, Sennheiser
Kevin Schornhorst, AVI-SPL
Rebecca Wade, Igloo Vision
Vendor Account Rep of the Year
Troy Baron, Extron
Steve Bueche, Newline Interactive
Jourdan Cook, AVI-SPL
Michael Cruz, Crestron
Eunji Kim, Bershire Hathaway Higher Education
Integrator of the Year
AVI-SPL
Berkshire Hathaway Higher Education Division
CDW
CTI
Diversified
Manufacturer of the Year
Catchbox
Igloo Vision
Legrand AV
Logitech
Shure
Congratulations to all our finalists and nominees!
Ticket information can be found on the Higher Ed Awards site at https://www.higheredavawards.com.
Judging notes: All award categories are judged by a panel of volunteer higher ed peers by forced ranking based upon the totality of the nomination package. Nominations were accepted during the open, free, nomination period. Judges are required to recuse themselves from any institutional conflicts of interest.
