Jonathan Ford, CTS-D, CTS-I

I serve as the dedicated onsite Audiovisual Support Engineer for Nestlé USA Headquarters, representing FORTÉ as the primary technical resource responsible for maintaining, supporting, and optimizing enterprise collaboration technologies across corporate meeting spaces and event environments. Partnering closely with Nestlé leadership, IT, facilities teams, and service providers to ensure reliable operation of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR), Crestron control systems, digital collaboration platforms, conferencing technologies, and audiovisual infrastructure. Act as a trusted advisor and operational liaison between Nestlé and FORTÉ service organizations, driving service excellence, issue resolution, and continuous improvement.

As the Senior AV Engineer for The People’s House, I oversee the reliability, optimization, and long-term stewardship of a complex, museum-grade audiovisual ecosystem that supports one of Washington, DC’s most visited cultural installations. I manage end-to-end operations across Q-SYS–driven control systems, BrightSign networks, interactive exhibits, directional audio, and motion-triggered storytelling environments—ensuring every visitor experiences the exhibition as intended. My work includes system maintenance, vendor coordination, infrastructure improvements, and forward-looking AV strategy that strengthens resilience, performance, and scalability for WHHA’s education and public-engagement mission.

• Led $2.8M AV modernization project, overseeing design, integration, commissioning, and verification. • Implemented scalable AV solutions for seamless technology integration during facility repurposing. • Designed enterprise-wide AV systems to enhance hybrid meeting efficiency and reduce operational costs.

• Managed $30M AV system upgrades, optimizing resource efficiency and extending system lifecycle. • Led AV operations across 60+ buildings, supporting 1,400+ hybrid events annually. • Directed a 25-member AV team, overseeing technical training, certification programs, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Provided AV system design expertise for corporate, government, and educational clients. • Managed sales goals, strategic planning, and rebranding initiatives to enhance client engagement. • Led AV installations and commissioning while ensuring compliance with AVIXA System Performance Verification standards.

• Directed event production and AV coordination for seamless live event execution. • Designed and implemented new AV systems and workflows to enhance user experience.

At this company, I supervised the art and production teams, and strategically planned to achieve the organization's mission and implement its initiatives. I oversaw the production readiness and troubleshooting of FOH, live digital audio and video recording, and radio broadcasting. I directed live audio, lighting design, video switching, and camera operation and supervised the installation and maintenance of equipment. Apart from coordinating equipment acquisition and repair activities, I also administered the renovation of systems at multiple campus venues to include equipment acquisition and maintenance functionality. Some key achievements in this role include: • Conceptualized and created approximately 6 to 11 unique, enticing experiences for the audience every week. • Augmented the growth of the mega-church helping thousands of people each week. • Engineered scalable systems to accelerate institutional growth and build cross-competencies within technical and AV support teams. • Designed and deployed the Young Artists and Musicians Development Program to coach the youth and build confidence for individual contributions to the creative community.

Provided vision and leadership within the church’s music and family life ministries with direct responsibilities encompassing musical direction, event production, technical and broadcast ministry, outreach initiatives and personnel management