In this November edition of HETMA Presents… Chair to Chair, host Erin Maher-Moran sits down with HETMA Sponsorship Chair and UC Berkeley AV leader Matt Kaminski to explore the month’s theme: Pit Stop – Grounded Gratitude. Matt traces his unexpected path from ER, pediatrics, and labor-and-delivery nursing in France to becoming an Audio Visual and digital services leader in higher education at UC Berkeley, where he now steers AV and digital strategy for the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society. Along the way, he talks about capital projects, AV over IP, Zoom rooms, and how HETMA became the community where his ideas were finally understood—and validated.

The conversation gets deeply personal as Matt shares a recent life-threatening medical emergency that forced him to rethink boundaries, energy, and what “matters most” both at work and at home. From small wins like being invited to the executive table and seeing pilot projects become standards, to big-picture changes in how sponsors engage with higher ed, Matt unpacks what a true “win-win” sponsorship model looks like. He and Erin talk about the power of mentoring, community spaces like happy hours and lunch-and-learns, and how the Sponsorship program is evolving to include not just hardware companies, but the SaaS and AI platforms that now shape our AV/IT ecosystems.

Topics Discussed

• Matt’s journey from French ER nurse and EMT to AV and digital services leadership at UC Berkeley
• How 9/11 inspired his interest in U.S. emergency response and ultimately led him to Berkeley
• Moving from an admin role in the dean’s office into AV, capital projects, and campus-wide digital learning initiatives
• Finding HETMA as a place for validation, shared struggles, and professional recognition
• What the HETMA Sponsorship Chair role really entails beyond “getting sponsors”
• Building sponsor relationships that focus on partnership, feedback, and co-designed solutions instead of end-of-quarter sales pushes
• A near-fatal health scare in Hawaii and how it reframed his views on work, boundaries, and mental health
• Practical habits that keep him grounded: planning a week ahead, making space to decompress, and leaning on community conversations
• Celebrating benchmarks in big capital projects and moving from “one step forward, two steps back” to something more sustainable
• The future of HETMA sponsorships: including SaaS and AI platforms while keeping the program focused and manageable

Connect with Matt Kaminski
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthieu-kaminski/

Connect with Erin Maher-Moran
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-maher-moran/

Join the conversation with the HETMA community at community.hetma.org.

This show is a production of Higher Ed AV Media. Visit www.HigherEdAV.com for new content every day.