Celebrate International Women's Day With Women In Hi-Fi Video
Honoring female leaders in audio: insights on careers, mentorship, and strategies in high-fidelity audio.
Seminar Moderated And Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin

  The Women In Hi-Fi Seminar was a featured program at the Florida International Audio Expo (FIAE) 2026. It served as a focused forum to highlight, connect, and support women working across the home-audio industry. The seminar brought together industry professionals, advocates, and attendees for a mix of panel discussions, career path conversations, and practical advice aimed at increasing visibility and opportunity for women in engineering, manufacturing, retail, media, and events within the hi-fi community. Organized as part of FIAE's program of expert-led seminars, with Women In Hi-Fi seminar moderated by Enjoy the Music.com's Creative Director, Steven R Rochlin, the session emphasized mentorship, networking, and concrete strategies for making the hobby and business of high-fidelity audio more inclusive and accessible.

Drawing on the broader mission of the Women In Hi-Fi initiative—to support, connect, and champion women across the global home audio industry—the seminar framed its topics around real-world scenarios and offered pathways to create a welcoming listening environment. Attendees reported practical takeaways for outreach at shows, suggestions for exhibitor engagement with younger and family audiences, and a renewed emphasis on mentorship and visibility for women in technical and leadership roles.

The session also functioned as a community-building event within the larger FIAE weekend, giving participants time to follow-up conversations on the show floor and in listening rooms. By situating the seminar inside a major regional audio expo, organizers leveraged the show's exhibitor demos and listening environments to illustrate points about accessibility, education, and audience development—turning abstract discussion into actionable examples that attendees could observe and discuss.

Beyond immediate networking benefits, the seminar reinforced ongoing Women In Hi-Fi efforts at major shows worldwide, signaling a sustained push for female leadership and technical expertise within an industry that, back in the 1900s, was historically male-dominated. Whether you're an avid music lover, audiophile, or significant other, you'll probably learn quite a bit from the video below.

Women In Hi-Fi Brief Bios

Anastasia Protopappas Of Pass Labs
Anastasia Protopappas is President of Pass Laboratories, the high-end audio company founded by Nelson Pass, where she leads the company's strategic, financial, and operational efforts. With an MBA from UC Davis and prior corporate finance experience, she has focused on professionalizing financial planning, strengthening HR processes, and supporting sustainable business growth since taking the helm. Protopappas aligns Pass Labs' technical excellence with disciplined financial stewardship to help the company scale while preserving its reputation, high-end sound, and build quality for high-performance audio.

Anne Bisson: Singer, Songwriter, And Musician
Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist, and jazz vocalist Anne Bisson is a multi-faceted artist whose career spans television, musical theater, and internationally acclaimed audiophile recordings. A pianist since childhood, she won the prestigious Étoiles du Maurier competition in 1984 with two original compositions. Two years later, she performed the role of Cristal in a new production of the rock opera Starmania for the Festival d'été de Lanaudière in Quebec.

Darlene Monteiro Of VAC
Darlene Monteiro is Vice President and head of marketing at Valve Amplification Company (VAC), the Florida-based high-end tube amplifier manufacturer founded by Kevin Hayes. She has been an active part of VAC's public presence and business operations, appearing with the company at shows and contributing to marketing, customer relations, and company stewardship.

Dee Goldstein Of Innovo Audio Designs
Dee Goldstein is a senior designer and executive at Innovo Audio Designs, a U.S.-based high-end speaker company known for its striking, DSP-driven active loudspeakers. She plays a central role in product design, user experience, and the company's approach to integrating amplification, digital signal processing, and industrial design into compact, room-friendly systems. Dee's work bridges engineering, aesthetics, and customer experience, helping Innovo position its Luxe-class speakers as both technical and lifestyle products.

Ofra Gershman Of Gershman Acoustics
For more than 33 years, Ofra has been a driving force behind one of the most respected brands in high-end audio. As a co-founder and global leader in the company, she has helped shape Gershman Acoustics from the ground up—guiding its international growth and building lasting relationships across the worldwide audio community. Throughout her career, Ofra has led across marketing, global sales, brand development, and product direction, while also becoming a visible and respected voice on the international stage.

Sheree Cora Of Acora Acoustics
Sheree Cora is co-owner and business partner of Acora Acoustics, the Canadian speaker company known for granite-based loudspeaker designs. She works alongside her husband Valerio (Val) Cora, and has played a visible role in shaping the brand's aesthetic presentation and consumer-facing identity as Acora grew from a one-off concept into a recognized high-end speaker maker. In 2023, Sheree and Valerio were publicly involved in the acquisition and stewardship of Audio Research through AR Tube Audio Corporation, a move that positioned the Cora family as influential players beyond loudspeaker design and into broader high-end electronics stewardship. 

Sherri Geshelli Of Geshelli Labs
Sherri Geshelli co-founded Geshelli Labs with her husband, Geno, in 2017. What began as a home-based side project grew into a full-scale, in-house production operation that handles PCB assembly, 3D printing, laser cutting, woodworking, and powder coating across a dedicated facility. Sherri's background in business management helped shape the company's growth strategy and operations as Geshelli expanded from hand-built prototypes to widely recognized DIY-friendly DACs and amplifiers. The company emphasizes in-house manufacturing and careful quality control while releasing popular, affordable, high-performance products for the audiophile and DIY communities.

May Anwar Of M101 Audio
May Anwar of M101 Audio is a scientist and higher education instructor, plus the author of Passport To Sound, a hands-on, family-friendly guide that introduces children and newcomers to the world of high-fidelity audio through listening activities and simple explanations. Designed to be used in listening rooms, at audio shows, or at home, the book turns potentially overwhelming equipment and terminology into a structured, curiosity-driven experience that encourages careful listening, respectful interaction with gear, and playful discovery of how sound is reproduced.

About The Video
"I recorded the Women in Hi-Fi' seminar at the Florida International Audio Expo, and these panelists delivered some serious truth bombs," said Audiophile Junkie. "We hear directly from the women who are designing, marketing, and selling top-tier audio gear. They share their personal origin stories, their day-to-day roles in a male-dominated field, and offer great advice on how the community can bridge the gender gap." We would like to humbly thank Audiophile Junkie for recording the seminar, which was moderated by Enjoy the Music.com's Creative Director, Steven R. Rochlin

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