Thom Brooks

Commissioned large / complex AV projects in the Chicagoland area.

* Audited Audio / Visual systems at new 700,000 sq ft campus build-out. Found safety issues, inefficiencies in design and programming; coordinated with OAC team and AV trades to make sure all were corrected. * Specified and managed $500k of retrofit upgrades across nine large combine / divide training rooms. Saved over $165k by repurposing existing equipment. * Created automation ’glue’ (Powershell, Pipedream) between enterprise platforms (OfficeSpace, Cisco Control Hub, SharePoint and FastField Forms) for room analytics and site AV monitoring. * Programmed a mobile survey process and inventory database to track AV equipment and room issues, synchronize room and equipment data, and record issues. * Aggregated data on room usage to provide a ‘heat map’ of conference room usage by site for senior leadership. * Created an automated reporting process to monitor AV equipment and find outages before room users did. * Provided Tier 2 support for all AV break / fix issues at the Deerfield campus, escalating to other teams or AV vendors / manufacturers as needed. * Managed OneLAN digital signage system: Brought new displays online, troubleshot issues, provided training to content creators and assisted with their technical questions. * Gathered a ‘wish list’ by interviewing event production staff, then upgraded broadcast systems in large event spaces, improving the quality and stability of all-employee meetings and other events. * Created AV system documentation in specialty spaces and provided training to Horizon employees.

Established Global Audio/Visual standards for the firm. Researched new technologies to simplify the A/V end user experience and bring a competitive advantage to the firm. Ensured that new construction projects were designed to meet A/V needs, and that installations happened on time. Coordinated with end user support, executive support, and vendor AV support teams to ensure that systems were properly maintained, issues were detected before they impacted users, and repaired quickly.

The Conference Tech Crew provides front-line AV support to all panelists presenting during the EDU, Interactive, Film and Music conferences. Recruited and managed a team of 300+ volunteers across 15 venues during SXSW. Provided training, assessment and guidance to 35 venue chiefs, shift leaders, and ‘AV Ninjas.’ Resolved scheduling, logistics issues and interpersonal conflicts, and adapted to constantly-changing requirements.

Worked with Corporate Owners, Architects and Property Developers to design the Audiovisual and Structured cable systems for large buildings and corporate campuses. Interviewed customers to develop a needs assessment. Coordinated with customers and other consultants to produce a coordinated set of documents that smoothly integrated AV and IT infrastructure into the design. Responsibilities: Mentored Design Associates. Developed programs of requirements and prepared associated documents, bases of design, conceptual presentations, and related deliverables. Designed and marked up existing designs (architectural backgrounds) to include logical and practical systems diagrams, details, and specifications. Bid review and recommendation: Leveled multiple bids, produced take-back questions, interviewed short-listed bidders and made final recommendation for award. Construction Administration: reviewed submittals, responded to RFIs, conducted site visits, created follow-up reports, resolved site conflicts, performed close-out inspections, validated systems. Provided quality control review and comments on audiovisual work to ensure that deliverables were thorough, coordinated, and technically complete, up to the standard of care required by the industry.

Worked with Corporate Owners, Architects and Property Developers to design the Audiovisual and Structured cable systems for large buildings and corporate campuses. Interviewed customers to develop a needs assessment. Coordinated with customers and other consultants to produce a coordinated set of documents that smoothly integrated AV and IT infrastructure into the design. Responsibilities: Developed programs of requirements and prepared associated documents, bases of design, conceptual presentations, and related deliverables. Designed and marked up existing designs (architectural backgrounds) to include logical and practical systems diagrams, details, and specifications. Bid review and recommendation: Leveled multiple bids, produced take-back questions, interviewed short-listed bidders and made final recommendation for award. Construction Administration: reviewed submittals, responded to RFIs, conducted site visits, created follow-up reports, resolved site conflicts, performed close-out inspections, validated systems. Provided quality control review and comments on audiovisual work to ensure that deliverables were thorough, coordinated, and technically complete, up to the standard of care required by the industry.

Designed systems which made it easy for people to use Audio/Visual technologies, using touchpanels and other interactive devices (phones, tablets, etc.) Created custom programming for these systems (Crestron, AMX.)

Managed Conference Tech volunteers within a specific venue or area during SXSW Interactive panels; met presenters and made sure the tech was properly set up for their talk.

Implemented large IT projects and exhibit technologies, and provided high-level troubleshooting support for IT and Audio Visual.

Computer Science concentration. Digital art - site-specific installations. Volunteer, Pediatric Hematology / Oncology ward, Mott Children's Hospital