Women in AV/IT adds five directors and a new vice president as it enters its fourth year. The organization also announced the recipients of its expanded 2026 Mary Cook Empowerment Scholarship.
Women in AV: Wavit Expands Board with Five New Directors
Women in AV/IT (Wavit) has expanded its Board of Directors with the appointment of five new members and the nomination of a new vice president as the organization enters its fourth year.
Joining the board are Vanessa Tolisano, Gisela Ramirez, Kristy Demsay, Kim Lonas, and Susan Milwit, while Cheryl Walton has been nominated as vice president. According to WAVIT President Althea Ricketts, the additions strengthen the organization’s leadership across sales, operations, human resources, channel partnerships, mentorship, and emerging technologies.
The new directors bring experience from across the AV/IT industry. Tolisano is a program and operations leader known for her work in governance, communications and mentorship initiatives, including Rise AV’s inaugural mentor program in the UK.
Ramirez, Southeast territory manager at Almo Pro AV, brings more than 20 years of sales experience and a track record of building strategic partnerships and mentoring industry professionals.
Demsay has held leadership roles spanning manufacturing, distribution, and channel management, giving her broad expertise in partner engagement and go-to-market strategy.
Lonas specializes in talent acquisition, workforce planning, and organizational culture, while Milwit, vice president of system integration at CTI, contributes experience in enterprise technology transformation, unified communications, and AI-driven business initiatives.
In a separate announcement, Wavitalso named Alexa Johnson of IMS Technology Services and Emily Cieslak of TeamPeople as recipients of the 2026 Mary Cook Empowerment Scholarship, sponsored by Shure. Created in memory of industry advocate Mary Cook, the scholarship was expanded this year to recognize two emerging women leaders for the first time.
