Tammy Fuqua, Developer Partner and Community Manager, Alliances & Ecosystem at Q-SYS
How long have you been part of the AV/IT industry, and how did you get into it? I started in the AV industry in 2000 and can totally date myself by the first product I sold, a DVD/CD duplicator. I suppose that is more "AV adjacent" than fully AV? Like many women in AV, I fell into it completely by accident. It was the best-paying position at the time I was looking for a job. Since then, I have grown to love the AV industry, geeking out with each tradeshow over new technology and in awe of the growth over the years. Throughout my career, I worked for integrators and then switched my focus to manufacturers, having worked with powerhouses such as Christie, Epson, and now QSC.
What is your role at your company? When I came to QSC four years ago, my focus was on developing a program of 3rd-party developers to help build our ecosystem by developing plugins for our manufacturer partners. As I continue these efforts, I also help promote our Q-SYS Communities for Developers forum. We have some amazingly talented programmers on this forum who share some impressive talents. If you are interested in seeing what these programmers are creating, check it out!
You've been a strong advocate for women in AV. Please talk about the organizations you have been part of and why they're important to you. I'll start with the why. When I entered the AV industry, there was no talk of DEI, and I had very few female role models to look up to. I rarely saw a woman above director level, and spent many meetings as the only woman in the room. I needed to see change.
Article continues belowAnd then I was invited to one of the first AVIXA Women's Council meetings in Southern California in 2016. I met two incredible women, Brandy Alvardo-Miranda and Cory Schaeffer. I could not believe there were other like-minded women in the industry with whom I could network and learn. Missing a meeting was not an option for me. Each one was a learning experience.
Four years later, I was asked to become a leader of the SoCal group with Brandy, Cory, and Susan Wilhite. I consider them not only my AV besties, but real-life friends. They became my "tribe". Through good and bad, we are here for each other.
We saw tremendous growth in the group over the years. Mentoring, networking, and learning were key topics that drew interest from women in the industry. At its peak, we were having a meeting nearly every month and had manufacturers lined up wanting to sponsor.
Then COVID hit…
In 2022, I became the council co-chair. It was a very difficult period of rebuilding after the pandemic. The workplace model was different. The council suffered, losing many of its 50 groups worldwide. During my term, there were also changes with the AVIXA staff and the loss of my co-chair that first year, which increased the challenges. It felt like an uphill battle.
Then we onboarded Christina Cruzeiro as the new co-chair. She was amazing! She hopped right in, and the two of us worked on things together. We onboarded new groups and rejuvenated defunct groups, and came up with new ideas like virtual quarterly meetings and the state-of-the-council yearly meeting. It was a time of growth again.
I am proud of my time as the co-chair. I took the role very seriously because I wanted to be a voice for all the women we were touching through the council. I wanted to give back what I had been given throughout my career.
Do you have any advice for young women entering our industry? Join a women's group! There is strength in numbers. The networking I was privy to by attending events was invaluable. I wholeheartedly believe that I would not be where I am with my career today if it were not for my involvement in the council. Every connection was important. Every story I heard from women as the co-chair touched me. Find a group that speaks to you and get involved! This industry needs to hear from strong females, and you cannot be heard without action.
Please share something about yourself that would help our audience understand a bit more about you. In 2024, I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. What a (expletive) blow that was! I have been through a hip replacement when the cancer settled into my femur and landed me in a wheelchair, opted for a double mastectomy and hysterectomy when I found out I was BRCA 2 positive, thirty rounds of radiation, and reconstruction surgery. None of my sharing is for sympathy; it's a cautionary tale. As women, we often put ourselves last, behind demands like family, caregiving, and work. When it comes to your health, please, put yourself first. Without your health, you have nothing, and none of these other things will matter. It is like an oxygen mask on a plane. You must take care of yourself before you care for others.
Through this diagnosis, I have become an advocate for women with breast cancer. I have been doing speaking engagements with Susan G. Komen, including last year's "More Than Pink" walk, where I told my story to 10,000 walkers, and I have started a course in cancer life coaching. I have a story that needs to be told to help save lives and inspire others.
This diagnosis is not curable, but through treatment, I am elated to say I am currently NED (No evidence of disease), and I hope I am here for a while. I am getting back to life as "normal," whatever that means now. But the reality is, the cancer will return at some point. Tomorrow? Next year? 20 years? I don't know, but it has taught me not to take a single day or thing for granted. My advice to the reader is to live life to its fullest while you can. You have no idea what tomorrow brings.
