Chair to Chair: John Pfeffer, FlexSpace Chair

In this December episode of HETMA Presents… Chair to Chair, Erin Maher-Moran sits down with John Pfeffer from the University at Buffalo, chair of HETMA’s FlexSpace committee, to explore how a long-running learning space repository can evolve to meet the needs of a growing higher ed AV community. John traces his path from a small K–12 district to leading large-scale classroom technology strategy at SUNY’s University at Buffalo, including his early days running a course management system from a server under his desk and helping build the original technology taxonomy behind FlexSpace. He shares why keeping FlexSpace as an open educational resource matters, and how he’s thinking about partnerships, sustainable architecture, and the reality that any system has to outlast the people who built it. 

The conversation then shifts into December’s theme of “Yield to Traffic – Productive Rest,” as John and Erin get honest about boundaries, sustainability, and the myth of being “always on” in AV and IT. John reflects on how robust system design has reduced the need for 24/7 firefighting at Buffalo, why meetings and prioritization matter as much as hardware, and how delegation and realism help him avoid trying to be the “do-it-all” person. They connect space design, time management, and career seasons, closing with a reminder that the real measure of productive rest is whether the job is crowding out the moments that matter most with family and loved ones. 

Topics Discussed:

John’s path from K–12 technology director to higher ed at the University at Buffalo. The origin story of FlexSpace and its roots in LSRS-aligned learning space examples. 
Why keeping FlexSpace as an open, no-cost educational resource is a core value. 
Treating FlexSpace like product management: catalogs of equipment, users, and spaces at scale. 
Sustainable systems design at Buffalo and reducing the need for 24/7 classroom “heroics.” 
Productive rest, meetings, and Patrick Lencioni’s Death by Meeting as a tool for better use of time. 
Delegation, not trying to be at the center of every purchasing or operational decision. 
How realistic constraints in physical space mirror the need for realistic expectations of time and energy. 
Service mindset, faculty partnerships, and knowing when to “yield” and let others take the reins. 
Looking ahead: the vision for a simpler, widely used FlexSpace that becomes a go-to resource across conferences, roadshows, and campuses. 

John Pfeffer
Email: [e-mail]

Erin Maher-Moran
Email: [e-mail]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-maher-moran


Join the conversation, share your own strategies for productive rest, and connect with HETMA’s community of higher ed AV professionals at community.hetma.org.

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