HETMA’s State of HETMA 2026: Member Growth, Global Momentum, and a Push for New Voices

HETMA used its annual State of HETMA keynote to open the 2026 Virtual Conference with a fast moving survey of the organization’s recent growth, its expanding event footprint, and several initiatives aimed at turning moe members into active contributors.

Board chair Erin Maher-Moran, IT Manager for Classroom Technology at Johns Hopkins University, led the session and framed the segment as a mix of retrospective and outlook. She also set a tone that positioned the panel as a conduit for member driven momentum rather than the center of the story.

“Whether you’re joining us from your office, your home, or somewhere across the globe, thank you for being part of this incredible community. So, today is about transparency, celebration, and vision,” Maher Moran said.

“Thank you for being part of this incredible community”

The 2026 State of HETMA keynote followed that same arc, with repeated references to visibility at major trade shows, growth in roadshow programming, and early planning around a first international event. Maher-Moran introduced the panel as a mix of current board leadership and founding voices, including Vice Chair Troy Powers, Secretary Annie Foster, at large board members Britt Yenser, Dustin Myers and Teddy Murphy, HETMA Co-Founders Joe Way and BC Hatchett, and Higher Ed AV Media Editor-In-Chief Ryan Gray.

Road to 10K and show floor momentum

Early in the discussion, Powers pointed to HETMA’s Road to 10K membership campaign as a headline initiative and described it as a program that has exceeded his initial expectations. He also referenced increased attendance and visibility at Integrated Systems Europe, plus additional momentum from education adjacent events.

Powers then previewed what he described as a significant near-term milestone: HETMA’s first international event in Belgium, hosted at Thomas More University. Planning for that event, he said, was shifting into a more active phase.

Dustin Myers returned to the topic of in person programming from a different angle, pointing to regional activity that continues outside of the formal roadshow calendar. He cited the Chicago area as an example of how local meetups have become more regular and more self-sustaining.

“I’m really proud of the roadshows. You know, we’ve… we took those and have grown them even more, and the idea that those roadshows have taken cultivated more of regional stuff without actually having them being there running those. I know, like, in the Chicago area, they’re meeting regularly,” Myers said.

“I’m really proud of the roadshows”

While panelists spoke about the benefits of in person touchpoints, they also described a practical goal: building repeatable structures that do not require a small leadership core to physically run every gathering. That theme showed up several times in different forms, from event operations to committee work and sponsor liaison roles.

Education programming and the HEX credential

Education and professional development took up a substantial portion of the keynote, with panelists referencing the virtual conference itself as part of a broader calendar that includes Lunch and Learns and a continuing education track around InfoComm week. The conversation also returned to credentialing, specifically the HEX program.

Powers described HEX as a curated pathway rather than a traditional exam-based certification. In his description, the program is designed around a set of higher education relevant AV courses that can be completed as required items and elective selections. He said the largest remaining barrier was technical, specifically the ability to track progress in a reliable way. Once the initial version is operating smoothly, he said, the intent is to expand into additional tracks.

“The thing about HEX is, it’s, it’s not like a certification where you take a class and then you take a test. It’s just, like, a curated list of, like, classes that are higher education, AV-related, that are good classes that are worth, like, the time and investment,” Powers said.

“Good classes that are worth the time and investment”

As the panel talked about education, it also referenced how HETMA’s programming increasingly intersects with the commercial AV integration channel. In the keynote, that intersection showed up less as a formal partnership update and more as a practical backdrop, with recurring references to trade show presence, interview requests, and the organization’s growing recognition.

Engagement remains the recurring refrain

If the keynote had a single operational refrain, it was engagement. Panelists repeatedly distinguished between reach and participation, describing the need to encourage more members to show up in ways that are realistic for their workloads.

Way, one of HETMA’s co-founders, framed that challenge in terms of scale. As programming expands, he said, the organization must sustain quality and follow through while also managing the consequences of growth.

“The challenge has been managing our own success, right? And making sure we can continue to deliver for everyone,” Way said.

“The challenge has been managing our own success”

Several panelists used the word “voices” when describing what they want next: more members speaking, writing, contributing ideas, and shaping sessions. The conversation did not land on a single mechanism, but it did include multiple entry points, including committee participation, sponsor touchpoints, and community posting.

Gray’s contribution focused on how members can choose an involvement lane without treating HETMA participation as a second job. Hatchett emphasized that the online community is itself a starting point for contribution, particularly for members who are not ready to commit to formal roles.

Sponsors and deliverables

The keynote also touched on sponsor relationships and the operational work of maintaining them. Panelists described sponsor stewardship in practical terms, including routine communication and follow through on commitments. They framed those activities as important to keeping programming viable and consistent, while also aligning sponsor participation with member value.

In recent years, HETMA has been increasingly visible in pro AV media coverage that connects sponsor activity with higher education end user engagement, a pattern that the organization also reflects in its own mission statement around amplifying the higher education vertical.  In the keynote, sponsor related discussion stayed focused on process and participation rather than any specific brand announcements.

Visibility at ISE and the “green shirt” moment

Late in the session, the panel returned to ISE, including how interview requests and show floor conversations have shifted. Gray described the organization’s visibility at ISE in terms of recognition that travels with the HETMA identity rather than a single individual. He framed it as a sign that the organization has a broader bench of leaders who are now treated as representatives on sight.

“HETMA’s the name that they’re associating with it, and that’s the key part. It’s awesome. Doesn’t matter which one of us in the green shirt is the one, because everyone in the green shirt is seen as a full rep of the org,” Gray said.

“Everyone in the green shirt is seen as a full rep of the org”

The comment landed as a light moment, but it aligned with a broader point the panel made throughout the keynote: the organization is trying to distribute leadership and participation beyond the people who have historically been most visible.

What the panel emphasized as next steps

Across the session, panelists highlighted several initiatives as current priorities.

One was continuing to expand the Road to 10K campaign and associated member growth efforts, while pushing harder on engagement and volunteer contribution. Another was scaling regional activity through roadshows and informal meetups, alongside continued presence at major shows. A third was stabilizing and launching HEX credentialing infrastructure, then expanding it into more role specific tracks.

Finally, multiple panelists returned to the idea of improving pathways for contribution. The keynote included a brief exchange about public speaking development that referenced a Toastmasters style model, offered partly as a serious idea and partly as a humorous prompt for future volunteer energy.

Maher-Moran closed by thanking panelists and attendees and keeping the event schedule moving into the next sessions of the virtual conference.

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