CEDIA has announced two promotions. The global organization has named Samantha Ventura vice president of education and training and Ian Bryant vice president of technology application and workforce initiatives. The positions deal with two of CEDIA’s key areas of strategic focus: education and workforce development.

“The decisions to elevate the roles and responsibilities of Samantha Ventura and Ian Bryant were easy ones,” said CEDIA Global President and Chief Executive Officer Tabatha O’Connor. “Each is dedicated to driving the industry forward by keeping education, training, innovation, and workforce efforts on the cutting edge. We’re really fortunate to find Samantha and Ian’s level of talent within our own ranks.”

Ventura’s responsibilities involve directing, managing and providing leadership in all instructional and academic systems within the organization’s education programs. She plans, develops and oversees various curriculum development and certification programs, and promotes and coordinates curriculum and course development and evaluation.

“Since joining CEDIA in March of 2018, Samantha has shown an exceptional capacity to lead and direct her team in a way that ensures educational initiatives remain a cornerstone of the organization,” said O’Connor. “She is an instrumental figure in CEDIA’s position as the global leader in home integration education.”

Samantha Ventura has spent the past two decades — both in California and Indiana — dedicated to developing and implementing learning programs, as well as best practices for engaging and inclusive instruction, in many larger organizations and institutions of higher learning. Her undergraduate work was specifically in education and her master’s and PhD work focused on teaching and organizational leadership. She has a special interest and focus on cultural intelligence and virtual leadership.

Prior to coming to CEDIA, Samantha Ventura served as director of learning initiatives for the DevOps Library, where she designed and developed online offerings supporting open source learning for a global audience. She has previously worked within many major organizations, including McGraw-Hill, Eli Lilly and High Point Global. Ventura is a published author in the field of automation for O’Reilly Media.

Ian Bryant’s responsibilities involve collaborating with the education department on high-level pathways and learning tracks, building business partnerships with industry organizations, and managing all things tech at CEDIA’s new global headquarters. He works directly with the technology and standards department, tech council and discovery working group. Bryant’s new position adds workforce initiatives and workforce development efforts designed to bring more individuals to the integration field. These programs include CEDIA Electronic Systems Integration Technician training, boot camps, City & Guilds and the Smart Home Technician Apprentice program. Occasionally, Bryant works with the marketing department on technology-related speaking engagements.

“Ian has been a volunteer and contractor for CEDIA for more than ten years and in his time as a CEDIA employee, he has been highly effective at fostering connections worldwide, taking workforce and tech initiatives to the next level,” O’Connor said. “Having come up the ranks in the industry himself, Ian’s deep understanding of industry career paths makes him uniquely qualified to lead our workforce initiatives.”

Bryant was named senior director of technology application and innovation in March after a more than two-decade career in custom AV and integration. His experience includes serving as a technology subcontractor for residential, corporate, government and hospitality projects.

Ian Bryant ran the Indianapolis office of Detroit-based ZenArray, which specializes in consulting, design, programming and installation services, before coming to CEDIA. Bryant is the 2017 CEDIA Volunteer of the Year and 2011 CEDIA Education Volunteer of the Year, and has served as a subject matter expert for the organization since 2008. He was also CEDIA Awards chair for three years and has been an Awards judge for a decade. Bryant is a Crestron Silver Master Programmer and is Harman HCCP, CEDIA ESC-T, ISF, HAA, Biamp, BSS and QSC-certified. He is also a nationally-certified EMS/EMT.

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