London, United Kingdom, 23 June 2026 – Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast and media technology sector, is pleased to announce the global mentoring cohort for 2026. 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 2026 programme includes 125 carefully selected mentee-mentor pairings.
Participation in the programme provides mentees with access to a range of professional development opportunities, including networking events, workshops and industry-led sessions designed to support long-term career growth. Each mentee also receives a minimum of two hours of dedicated one-to-one mentoring per month throughout the programme
Running over six months, the Rise mentoring programme combines global collaboration with regional relevance. While all cohorts will take part in a number of shared international sessions, each territory will also follow a tailored programme designed to reflect the unique priorities, challenges and opportunities within its local market.
This valuable scheme is made possible due the incredible support from industry sponsors for 2026 including: Channel 4, BBC, Sky, Mimir & Saga (Fonn Group), Vizrt, Qvest , Arqiva, ITV, Ross Video , Appear and BFBS.
Carla Maroussas, Global Programme Mentoring Manager at Rise, stated: "I am thrilled to announce our new mentee-mentor pairings for this year’s mentoring programme! Building on the incredible success of our past cohorts, this year’s participants form a truly global network that reflects our deep commitment to diversity and inclusion. We are excited to support their journeys as they collaborate, thrive, and accelerate their career growth in the coming months."
Deborah Cross, Operations Director at Rise, said: “Each year, the Rise Mentoring Programme continues to demonstrate just how transformative mentorship can be for everyone involved. It is incredibly rewarding to see mentees grow in confidence, develop new skills, and expand their professional networks, while mentors also gain fresh perspectives and meaningful connections through the experience. What makes the programme especially impactful is that the benefits extend far beyond the individual participants. Mentees take the knowledge, skills and confidence they gain back into their workplaces, creating positive change within their own organisations and helping to shape a more inclusive, innovative and collaborative industry for the future.”
The mentor and mentee pairings for the 2026 global programme are as follows:
UK Mentor and Mentee Pairings:
- Abi Roskilly, Foo Engine will be mentored by Becky Daniell, BBC Studios
- Alesia Barnard, ITV Leeds will be mentored by James Macmillan, Prime Focus
- Annie Francis, Racoon will be mentored by Heidi Shakespeare, Memnon
- Caitlin Lancit, Ross Video will be mentored by Cat Tate, Accedo
- Charlotte Byers, Channel 4 will be mentored by Jason Plews, NED
- Caritta Troconis, BBC Studios will be mentored by Donna Mulvey Jones, Banijay
- Carly Jackson, Arqiva will be mentored by Jenny King, ITN
- Ciara Ryan, Hearst Networks EMEA will be mentored by Bruce Devlin, Mr MXF
- Ela Colangelo, AMC Networks will be mentored by Gabby Redfern, Sky
- Elena Karathanasi, BBC will be mentored by Natascha Cadle, Envy
- Emel Tas, XL8 will be mentored by Louise Tapia, Verbit
- Emily Merron, Aurora Media will be mentored by Mark Cooke, Ross Video
- Emma Chapman, Sky Sports F1 will be mentored by Abigail Hughes, ITV
- Emma Dawes, IMG Studios will be mentored by Sue Farrell, Channel 4
- Emma Quinn, WBD will be mentored by Alex Redfern, EVS
- Erin Harper, ITN will be mentored by Stephen Tallamy, LEGO Group
- Flora Fernandez, Base Media Cloud will be mentored by Ambiga Ram, Lucy Group
- Francesca Greetham, WBD will be mentored by Matthew Westrup, Hearst
- Hannah McCann, Formula 1 will be mentored by Conor Arnot, WBD
- Heather Neele, Plus 4 Audio will be mentored by Sophie Lambert, Freelancer
- Jade Warne, Yospace will be mentored by Clare Butler, Hansen Technologies
- Jen Hudson, Videndum will be mentored by Mike Ward, Vizrt
- Kayley Barnes, Sky will be mentored by Tom Wheaton, ITV Studios
- Louise Corfield, WSL will be mentored by Dave Gill, AE Live
- Luna Bai, Vizrt will be mentored by Paul Davies, Yospace
- Melanie Lyons, IMG Studios will be mentored by Ian Wagdin, Appear
- Molly Cole, Platform Communications will be mentored by Nicola Milburn, Hitomi
- Nicole Cumberbatch, Gravity Media will be mentored by Tim Addy, Dolby Laboratories
- Pauline Arowolo, DPP will be mentored by Samantha Fray, Black People in Sports Broadcasting
- Seema Shah, Encompass Digital Media will be mentored by Jess Horst, BBC
- Solmaz Aslan, BBC Manchester will be mentored by Erin MacTague, Timeline
- Sophie Bolwell-Davies, Amazon Prime Video will be mentored by Elaine Sampson, WBD
- Vanessa Tarrier, BFBS will be mentored by Neave Spikings, dB Broadcast
- Meinir Jones, BBC Cardiff will be mentored by Lauren Ellis Jones, Home Post Production
- Holly Taylor, Cinematic will be mentored by Mark Wynter, The Farm Group
- Karine Wach-Donovan, Molinare will be mentored by Liz Clarke, The Kitchen LLC
- Rebecca O'Brien, RedBee Media will be mentored by Alex Coakley, AJC Media
- Roxy Galuba, Christy Media Solutions will be mentored by Rowan de Pomerai, DPP
EU Mentor and Mentee Pairings:
- Annemarie Vermeulen, Cuez will be mentored by Derek Barrilleaux, Projective
- Carla Molina Whyte, Farmerswife will be mentored by Christelle Brausch, TVU Networks
- Cécile Le Guilloux, Hexaglobe Group will be mentored by Claudine Cecille, Golden Acacia Consulting
- Céline Munos, EVS will be mentored by Elena Ditadi, RFE Broadcast SRL
- Claire Couson, Perfect Memory will be mentored by Denise Müller, Riedel Networks
- Claudia Zimmer, CYME will be mentored by Alex de Wit, Venali
- Gamza Bakhishaliyeva, Memnon Archiving Services will be mentored by Levent Ozparlak, Irdeto BV
- Ing-Ing Yen, G&L GmbH will be mentored by Michael Pfitzner, CGI
- Katariina Kiviranta, Viaplay Group will be mentored by Märta Rydbeck, Dealdonegood AB
- Katrin Houben, Qvest will be mentored by Carine Chardon, GFU Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH
- Lisa Jagenau, VRT will be mentored by Delphine Calvini, BeIN Sports
- Luba Karpova, Proximus will be mentored by Margot Ouali, Appear ASA
- Lucie Bayer, Warner Bros. Discovery will be mentored by Florian Fraas, CGI
- Madison McGivern, Appear ASA will be mentored by Belen Arronte, Axolotl
- Martina Stepankova, Oneplay Production will be mentored by Marlene Neuberger, SWR
- Mirjam Weisflog, Samfilm will be mentored by Jan Fröhlich, Hochschule der Medien (HdM)
- Myriam Anik, Vizrt will be mentored by Amir Hochfeld, HighField AI
- Nadica Nikolikj, Mediagenix will be mentored by Christel Jäckel, Avid
- Natalia Polychronopoulou, Caretta Research will be mentored by Nancy Diaz Curiel, Ross Video
- Némésis Srour, Mediagenix will be mentored by Martin Prins, Media Distillery
- Nicolle Charpentier, Wipro Limited will be mentored by Kathleen Schröter, Ootiboo
- Noran Kamal Goma, Bayerischer Rundfunk will be mentored by Sini Kervinen, Bauer Media Oy
- Sabela Ruy-Díaz, Wave Connect will be mentored by Maria Hellström, Codemill
- Sasha Martell, International Testing Agency will be mentored by Stephan Heimbecher, SWR
- Sharon Debuyser, DPG Media will be mentored by Giovanni Piccirilli, RTL
- Stephanie Girrbach, SWR will be mentored by Thorsten Schreiner, ZDF
- Szilvia Tóth-Balasi, Warner Bros. Discovery will be mentored by Simona Lippi, AxelTech
- Umma Tamanna, Fonn Group will be mentored by Brigita Brjuhhanov, Elisa
- Virve Kettunen, Mediakunta will be mentored by Christer Palsson
North America Mentor and Mentee Pairings:
- Arianna Oropeza, WBD will be mentored by Anne Graham, WBD
- Ashley Laliberty, WBD will be mentored by Gaylen Clutter, Evertz
- Bibiana Cifuentes, Providius will be mentored by Chiqui Bianco, Former NBCU, Paramount, Univision, Mattel etc.
- Christy Tetzler, CNN will be mentored by Magdalena Jagucka, Independent Consulting.
- Diana Anpilohova, NYFA will be mentored by Jodynne Wood, 3Play Media
- Em Donald, Ross Production Services will be mentored by Carla Prates, Digital Anarchy
- Jessica Mouser, Mouser Media will be mentored by Joyce Bente, Riedel Communications
- Kimberly Fabian, Ross Video will be mentored by Steph Lone, AWS
- Lacey Gandee, ESPN will be mentored by Olivia Cianci, Reuters Imagen
- Maleah Pasasouk, Dark Matter Media will be mentored by Melani De Guzman, FreshDirect
- Nadya Brun, Qualabs will be mentored by Thalia Crone, Fremantle
- Nermin Foundas, Thomson Reuters will be mentored by Elizabeth (Liz) Guenther, Deluxe Media
- Olivia Black, WBD will be mentored by Stephanie Haycock, Former Disney
- Valentyna Akulova, Ross Video will be mentored by Peggy Dau, Media Technology Consultant
- Vanesa Andres Domingo, Grass Valley will be mentored by Roland Vlaicu, Former Netflix & Dolby
Australia and New Zealand Mentor and Mentee Pairings:
- Hema Sheel, Tabcorp will be mentored by Paul Whybrow, SMPTE
- Rupali Palikhe, Stan Entertainment/Nine will be mentored by Indrani Rajendran, Accedo TV
- Annie Weller, Uniqfeed / TBS will be mentored by Belinda Kent, Telstra
- Julijana Nikolis, Gravity Media will be mentored by Tanya Kelly, Cadium
- Jenny Kapp, ABC will be mentored by Reza Mazhari, Tabcorp
- Sophie Pierce, N/A will be mentored by Brendan Smith, Gravity Media
- Lauren Phelan, SBS will be mentored by Deidre Joubert, TBS
- Brooke Joyner, Freelance will be mentored by Sandra Page, ATC
- Momoko Metham, Special Broadcasting Service will be mentored by Cora Spear, Comcast
- Mia Ok, Foxtel will be mentored by Stephanie Foran, Nine
- Olivia Dent, Seven Network will be mentored by Boey Song, Qvest
- Eunice Ramirez, Nine will be mentored by Nina Walsh, Amazon Web Services
- Briana Alexander, Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association will be mentored by Jodie Fisher, Whooshka
- Zali Shepherd, Sky Racing AU will be mentored by Philippa Windus, Irdeto
- Karen Allen, Kreativekaz Media will be mentored by Vanessa Arden-Wood, ABC
- Rebecca Scott, Freelance will be mentored by Anna Lockwood, Telstra
- Louie Sleeman, Freelance will be mentored by Christie Bence, MKTG
- Annaliese Whipp, SBS will be mentored by Ben Stavert, Hello
- Nikyah Hutchings, National Indigenous Television (NITV) will be mentored by Mark Johns, Switch TV
APAC and India Mentor and Mentee Pairings:
- Anisha Chawla, Amagi Media Labs Limited will be mentored by Asha Kulkarni, Larsen & Toubro
- Anisha Nayar Dhawan, Self will be mentored by Rajyashree Iqbal, Self Employed
- Arpita Pandey, Magnifi (Now owned by Minute Media) will be mentored by Shikha Sharma, AWS India Pvt Ltd
- Asha Uniyal, VineGarden Films will be mentored by Ritu Sharma, The Indus Entrepreneur
- Astha Bhatnagar, Pixel Phrase Creative Studio will be mentored by Sapna Gopinath, Alten India Pvt Ltd
- Charu Chana, Benchmark will be mentored by Jagmandeep Singh, SVIPJA Techno Consultants Pvt Ltd
- Divya Shalini, The Economist Group will be mentored by Elliot Renton, Magnifi
- Fathima Beevi S, Ovyo will be mentored by Ankita A Verma, T-Systems Information and Communication Technology India Private Limited
- Harini Venkatesan, Warner Bros. Discovery will be mentored by Nirmala Gambhir, Ovyo Services Private Limited
- Jayasmita Mohanty, Cognizant will be mentored by K Yegneshwara Iyer, Self Employed
- Karishma Malimath, Deluxe Entertainment will be mentored by Gandhali Mahajan, Sony Pictures Network
- Nija Vinod, Ovyo Tech Services will be mentored by Durga Nair Tarkar, Brahma AI
- Osheen Jain, Ovyo Tech Services will be mentored by Jes George, ex-JioHotstar
- Poornima Shettigar, WPP Media will be mentored by Jai Daga, SIES (South Indian Education Society)
- Prajakta Jadhav, Self Employed will be mentored by Sonam Dave, Self Employed
- Raksha Handigol, Ovyo Tech Services will be mentored by Rakhi Sundar, Deluxe
- Sheel Achnani, BBC Studios will be mentored by Monisha Chowla, Monks
- Shubha Ranganath, OVYO Services Private Ltd will be mentored by Nalini Lalvani, A&N Advisors
- Smaranika Panda, Ovyo Tech Services will be mentored by Neeraj Jha, Warner Bros. Discovery
- Sneha Gupta, JetSynthesys will be mentored by Neha Donald, PepsiCo
- Snehal Nagtilak, Freelance will be mentored by Gowri Subramanian, Benchmark Broadcast Systems
- Soumya Bhasin, CleverTap will be mentored by Sonali Shah, Vero Strategic Growth Partners
- Sruthi Suresh, Planetcast Media Service Limited will be mentored by Akash Mittal, Samsung India
- Sruti Chakraborty, Warner Bros. Discovery (Eurosport) will be mentored by Sulina Menon, MediaPower
- Sweta Prasad, Amagi will be mentored by Nupur Srivastava, JetSynthesys
- Vidhi Sharma, TGM will be mentored by Rajal Bhatt, Techseria
To find out more and to discuss how you can get involved, please contact Carla Maroussas, Mentoring Manager at Rise on carla@risewib.com.