Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast and media technology sector, is pleased to announce the global cohort for 2025. The initiative spans the UK, Europe, ANZ, APAC and India, as well as North America, aligning with Rise s mission of fostering inclusivity and diversity in the industry on a global scale. The 2025 edition of the programme includes over 100 carefully selected mentee-mentor pairings, with the North America pairings yet to be announced. Acceptance to the programme grants participants a range of exciting benefits including face-to-face networking events, workshops and seminars. Additionally, each mentee benefits from a minimum of two hours of monthly, personalised guidance from their mentor.
During the six-month long programme, each regional cohort will follow a varied agenda with several shared sessions, with the incorporation of tailored enhancements to ensure its relevance to the unique dynamics of the local territory.
This valuable scheme is made possible due the incredible support from industry sponsors for 2025 including: ITV, BBC Studios, Arqiva, Red Bee Media, Grass Valley, Vizrt, Ross Video, Clear-Com, CGI, PixitMedia, Channel 4 and Sky.
Carla Maroussas, Programme Mentoring Manager at Rise, stated: I am excited to announce this year's new mentee-mentor pairings in our mentoring programme. Following the inspiring success of past participants, we have brought together a truly global group of mentees, reflecting our strong commitment to inclusivity and diversity. We can't wait to see how they grow, thrive, and advance their careers in the months ahead!
Deborah Cross, Business Manager at Rise, said: "The Rise Mentoring Programme is now a global initiative designed to empower and develop incredible female talent within broadcast and media. We don't just see the participants develop personally, they also become future leaders and innovators, ultimately making the whole industry more diverse and vibrant! It is an honour to be part of such a wonderful initiative and I'm incredibly excited to see the positive impact it will have on both the mentors and mentees of our 2025 cohort!"
The mentor and mentee pairings for the 2025 global programme are as follows:
UK Mentor and Mentee Pairings:
Abi Duck, Media Planning Executive, AMC Networks will be mentored by Neave Spikings, Senior Systems Engineer, dB Broadcast
Amanda Mandiki, Design Engineer Professional, BT will be mentored by Angelica Stephenson, Head of Product - Sky Business, Sky
Donjeta Geci, Senior Bid and Project Manager, Sony Europe will be mentored by Heidi Shakespear, CEO, Menmon
April Thompson, MCR Specialist - Service Delivery, Encompass Digital will be mentored by Jessica Horst, BBC International News | Service Development & Delivery Manager (Playout), BBC Studios
Beata Kuczynaska, VOD Operations Project Lead, Warner Bros. Discovery will be mentored by Paul Davies, Head of Marketing, Yospace
Alex Grzesista, Delivery Lead, AdSignal will be mentored by Abigail Hughes, Director of Global Partnerships, ITV Studios
Caroline Madeira, Planning Supervisor - Technical Lead, Vubiquity will be mentored by Charlotte Layton, Co-founder and CCO, Tanooki Technologies and Racoon
Ceri Greenwell, Studio Manager, OU Northampton will be mentored by Alex Redfern, CTO, EVS Broadcast
Chloe Schuil-Brewer, Associate Broadcast Support Engineer SME in IP and Controlsystems, Sky will be mentored by Sue Farrell, Broadcast Engineering Manager, Channel 4
Colleen Relle, Multiskilled Technical Operator - Floor Manager, BBC will be mentored by Kirstyan Scarborough, VP, Broadcast Services, APAC & EMEA, Encompass
Gemma McGuillion, Senior Manager of Access Services, Sky will be mentored by Natascha Cadle, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Envy Post Production
Georgia Harris-Everitt, Group Head of Marketing / C-Founder / Event Manager, 5 Values will be mentored by Anna-Louise Buick, Director, Platform Communications
Hannah Leigh, Project Manager, RedBee Media will be mentored by Alex Coakley, Commercial & Strategy Consultant, AJC Media
Irene Munroe Lopez, Multi-skilled Operator - Vision, Vivid Broadcast will be mentored by Thalia Crone, Global Head of Media Supply Chain Operations, Warner Bros. Discovery
Joanna Browne, Senior Manager - Metadata Services, Warner Bros. Discovery will be mentored by Catriona Tate, Sales Director, UK & EMEA, Accedo
Bina Mistry, Revenue Operations Manager, Deltatre will be mentored by Fran Burnham, Chief Revenue Officer, Base Media Cloud
Kate Batten, Sound Engineer, Plus4Audio will be mentored by Sara Shepherd, Head of Transmission, BBC Distribution
Kate Horlor, Development Coordinator / Assistant Producer, BBC Studios will be mentored by Gabby Redfern, Group Director Content Services, Sky
Lauren Carter Jones, Head of Events Marketing, MBI will be mentored by Barney McDonald, Co Founder, Waldo
Mia Kofaed - Kristians, Studio Coordinator, Picture Shop will be mentored by Jenny King, Head of Technical Production, ITN
Milena Cave, Head of Production, The Farm will be mentored by Laurissa Yeung Shea, Application Owner, Warner Bros. Discovery
Monica Goyal, Product Professional, BT will be mentored by Ben Davenport, Partner, The Hive Group
Patrycia Foltynowicz, Camera Assistant / Junior Camera Op, Limitless will be mentored by Dom Foulkes, Online Engineering Manager, Channel 4
Rachel Ellis, Project Manager, dB Broadcast will be mentored by Jackie Howes, Director of Media Infrastructure Architecture, Warner Bros. Discovery
Rebecca Bray, Broadcast Engineer, ATP will be mentored by Stephen Tallamy, Principal Engineer, Lego
Rio Gayle, Producer, Flight Story Studios will be mentored by Natalina Manni, Publisher Operations Globally, TikTok
Sadie Thomas, Sales Manager, SVG will be mentored by Katie Colledge, Founder, Clapper Communications
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