Rise Announce Global Cohorts for 2025 Mentoring Scheme

London, United Kingdom, 18th June 2025 – 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 Shakespeare, 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
Carolina 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 Muñoz-López, Junior Support Engineer, Amazon Prime Video will be mentored by Thalia Crone, Global Head of Media Supply Chain Operations, Fremantle
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 Kofoed-Kristiansen, 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 Group
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, Clapperboard Communications
Sandrine Ferraro, Digital Media & Dubbing Coordinator, Fremantle will be mentored by Donna Mulvey-Jones, Director of Post Production, Banijay
Sarah Nichol, Product Manager, All 3 Media will be mentored by Clare Butler, SVP Marketing, Grabyo
Sinead Kandiah, Live Operations Supervisor, IMG will be mentored by Amruta Shankar, Director of AI Transformation, Synamedia
Holly Kilvington, Production Coordinator, BBC Studios will be mentored by Rowan De Pomperai, CEO, DPP
Georgina Brett, Production/Post Production Manager, Freelancer will be mentored by Charlotte Wheeler, Director of the Broadcast Tech & Sport Group, MBI
Nasim Beachham-Patterson, Client Services Manager, ITV will be mentored by Liz Clarke, Consultant

EU Mentor and Mentee Pairings:

Emma Sahall, Project Manager, ABS Broadcast will be mentored by Maurice Verlaat, Head of Live Services / Program Director, Red Bee Media
Stephanie Raven, Content & Editorial Manager, EVS will be mentored by Claudine Cecille, General Manager, Golden Acacia Consulting
Kamilla Osnes, Agile Coach, TV2 Denmark will be mentored by Märta Rydbeck, Head of Content, Swipefinder
Pauliina Harno, PR Manager, HBO and Max, Warner Bros. Discovery will be mentored by Tiina Lehmonen, Head of Motorsports Operations, NEP Finland, AKK Sports
Hind El Bezzaz Semlali, Regional Marketing Manager, Sony will be mentored by Isabelle Pasquesoone, Business Director, Qwant
Anna-Maria Zeußel, Master's student Advanced Media Technology, LOGIC Media Solutions GmbH will be mentored by Michael Gamböck, Principal Manager Ecosystem, Adobe
Antje Lang, Project Leader/Planning Engineer, ZDF will be mentored by Louisa von Lenthe, Director Inhouse Operations Sports, Sky Deutschland
Apollonia Hartmann, VFX Producer, Accenture Song Content Germany will be mentored by Stephan Heimbecher, Head of ARD Competence Center Production & Infrastructure, ARD
Denise Müller, Project Manager Media, Riedel Networks will be mentored by Christel Jaekel, Director - Presales Video EMEA, Avid
Diana Jehle, Account Manager, Amazon Web Services will be mentored by Nancy Diaz Curiel, Regional Sales Director - Corporate - EMEA, Ross Video
Mareike Falk, Technical Consultant for the ZDF National and Foreign Offices, ZDF will be mentored by Kathleen Schröter, Co-Founder & CEO, ootiboo
Nina Bayne, Marketing & Communication Manager, ARRI Rental will be mentored by Alexandra Maier, Director, Global Marketing & Communications - Media Solutions + Intellectual Property, CGI
Simone Eiberger, Marketing Specialist and Lead Consultant, CGI will be mentored by Serkan Güner, Chief of Optimism, Riedel
Svenja Schlögl, Unit Lead, ZDF will be mentored by Marlene Neuberger, Department Head, Events & Acquisition, SWR
Marija Sarafimova, Technical Services Operations, JWP Connatix will be mentored by Zlatan Gavran, Managing Director, NEP
Cesira Holterman, Project Manager, Red Bee Media will be mentored by Georgiana Verdonk-Sim, Strategic Advisor & Consulting Psychologist, Marketing Consultants Network
Charlotte Støfring, Interim Corporate Communications Lead, Vizrt will be mentored by Margot Ouali, Head of Corporate and Marketing, appear
Klaudia Krzysztoń, Broadcast Operations Coordinator, Hearst Networks will be mentored by Christer Palsson, NEP Europe (formerly)
Andreea Badila, Broadcast Engineer, Ericsson will be mentored by Dragana Jovcic, CEO and Co-founder, Uradi Zaradi
Alba Bernal Mateos, IT System Technician, OBS will be mentored by Eli Hughes, Culture Change Consultant, Olympic Broadcasting Services
Cara Edney, Founder / Lead Audio Describer, Hear Say Audio Description will be mentored by Diana Sanchez, Head of Business Development, Red Bee Media
Kristin Koepke, Head of Content, ocilion IPTV Solutions will be mentored by Sonya Biernath, Director Fulfillment, Audio and Access Services, Deluxe Media
Maitte Thais Oliveira Peixoto, Assistant Marketing and Business Relations Manager, Eurora will be mentored by Barbara Rosseel, Strategic Marketing Lead, Sony
Federica Bonardi, TV Production Specialist, UEFA will be mentored by Delphine Calvini, Manager of Broadcast Technology Solutions, beIN Media Group

Australia and New Zealand Mentor and Mentee Pairings:

Amy Still, Broadcast Applications Engineer/Specialist, Foxtel will be mentored by Andrew Martin, Head of Media Services, Television New Zealand (TVNZ)
Anna Phelps, Producer, Freelance will be mentored by Martin Ferreira, Director of Technical Operations, Fremantle Australia
Caitlin Bibby, Viz Mosart Pilot/ Co-Pilot/ Director, Nine will be mentored by Brendan Smith, Head of Workflow, Gravity Media
Elizabeth Wylie, Senior Broadcast Director, Sky Racing will be mentored by Jenifer Martin, General Manager - Broadcast & Media Operations, 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup
Emma Hooper, Sales Coordinator, Australian Radio Network will be mentored by Manda Hatter, Head of Operations, ABC
Hannah Facey, Senior Presentation Coordinator, Telstra Broadcasting Services will be mentored by Stephen Langdon, Principal lead GTM Media, Entertainment, Games and Sport, AWS
Indrani Rajendran, Senior Software Engineer, Accedo will be mentored by Trupti Patel, Head of Program Management, Telstra Broadcast 
Jessica Aldridge, Camera/Cablehand, NEP will be mentored by Mike Lewis, GM Operations & Technology, MKTG
Keeley Dillon, Partnerships Coordinator, Sports Entertainment Network and Sports Contractor, Double Take Sports will be mentored by Cora Spear, Partnerships Director, Comcast
Li Han, Playout and Distribution Team Leader, Television New Zealand will be mentored by Richard Kelly, Owner and Director, Atomise
Lillyana Brady, Technical Operator, Sky Racing will be mentored by Boey Song, Engineering Manager, Qvest Australia
Maddeison Secker, First Nations Engagement and Partnerships Coordinator, SBS will be mentored by Vanessa Arden-Wood, Manager - Social Media, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Maddie Harvey, Production Coordinator, Gravity Media will be mentored by Sophie Belluomo, General Manager, The HELM Technology
Maria Henderson, Broadcast Production Coordinator, Sky Racing will be mentored by Sam Yee, Product Management Leader, True Peak
Rebecca Cushway, Producer, Australian Broadcasting Corporation will be mentored by Nina Walsh, Global Leader, Business Development, Media & Entertainment, Games and Sports, Amazon Web Services
Rebecca Dempsey, AI Training Coordinator, Broadcast Virtual will be mentored by Hoda Mohaghegh, Machine Learning Developer, Rising Sun Pictures
Regine Delmo, Cloud Operations Engineer, Qvest will be mentored by Urvashi Pal, Senior Solutions Engineer (Pre-Sales) - APJ Media, Akamai
Rucha Bhugat, Business Analyst, Telstra Broadcast Service will be mentored by Tanya Kelly, Managing Director, APAC, Fabric
Sandra Page, Broadcast Manager, Australian Turf Club will be mentored by Doxia Brownlow, Head of Broadcast Operations, Tabcorp
Sarah Lewis, Graphics Operator, Freelance will be mentored by Brooke Guy, Production Manager, EMG/Gravity Media
Shelley Brann, Team Leader/Captioner, Red Bee Media will be mentored by Kate Land, Commercial Administration and ESG, EMG/Gravity Media
Stef Canard, Production Assistant - Broadcast, DoubleTake Sports will be mentored by Christie Bence , Head of Systems & Technology, MKTG
Syeda Ayesha Javed, Technical Support Engineer, Qvest will be mentored by Padraig O'Donovan, CEO/Director, Layercake
Taryn Ireland, Media Assets Officer, Telstra Broadcast Services will be mentored by Oliva Grimshaw,  Presales and Customer Success Manager APAC, Grass Valley
Zoe Zropf, Chief of Staff, DoubleTake Sports will be mentored by Anna Lockwood, Head of Media & Sport, Telstra International
Maya El Baya, Camera Assistant, ABC/FURLA will be mentored by Jenifer Martins, General Manager, Broadcast & Media Operations for the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup

APAC and India Mentor and Mentee Pairings:

Andrhea May Castillo, EVS Operator, TV5 Media Center will be mentored by Paul Shutt, Head of Channel Sales APAC, Vizrt
Apple Joyce So, Operational Delivery Manager, BBC Studios will be mentored by Elliot Renton, Senior Vice President - Asia Pacific, Magnifi
Cecilia Ang, Creative Producer, N/A will be mentored by Eileen Lim, Production Management Lead, SPH Media
Dunya Munassar, IT Engineer, Asharq News Services will be mentored by Sangeeta Mahawar, Consultant
Ira Chelsea Asuncion, Ingest Staff, TV5 Media Center will be mentored by Bonnie Tan, Director, Business Development & Partnership, APAC, Irdeto B.V.
Marjory Sy, Solutions Sales Specialist, Telstra International will be mentored by Peter Bruce, Senior Manager Channel Sales, APAC, Harmonic
Stefanie Putri, ICT Teacher, Mentari Intercultural School will be mentored by Chrys Poulain, Directeur Commercial, Nagra
Meghna Vidyasagar, Marketing Manager - Global Events, Amagi will be mentored by Sonam Dave, Consultant
Ankita Mishra, Team Lead-Compliance, Prime Focus Technologies will be mentored by Rajal Bhatt, Director, Techseria
Bhuvaneshwari J, Quality Analyst, Prime Focus Technologies will be mentored by Shivani Kochhar, Senior Manager, Sales Systems, Warner Bros. Discovery
Dilashi Hemnani, Senior Manager - Marketing Communications, Prime Focus Technologies will be mentored by Shikha Sharma, Marketing Leader - Public Sector (India and South Asia), AWS India
Gouri Deshpande, Team Lead, Vaco will be mentored by Rakhi Sundar, Senior Director, Project Operations, Deluxe Media
Harini C, Quality & Governance Manager, Prime Focus Technologies will be mentored by Asha Kulkarni, Vice President, Zee
Manjit Kaur, Assistant Manager of Content Localization, Prime Focus Technologies will be mentored by Neha Donald, Senior Director, Global Strategy & Transformation - AMESA, APAC & Europe, PepsiCo
Megha Sachdeva, General Manager - Content Sourcing, Bharti Airtel will be mentored by Shweta Jain, VP of Sales, To The New Singapore
Poonam Patil, Technical Support and Customer Success, Inka Entworks will be mentored by Jai Daga, VP Technology, Sony Pictures
Prajakta Apte, Media Associate, Prime Focus Technologies will be mentored by Ankita Verma, SA, Ericsson
Priyanka Kushte, Quality Auditor, Prime Focus Technologies will be mentored by Pooja Subbaiah, AGM Marketing & Communications, Prestige Constructions
Rachan Achappa, HR Manager, Ovyo Services Private will be mentored by Shree Lakshmi, GM Corporate Communications & Brand Management, L&D
Renita Magdalene, Content Partnerships Manager, CloudWalker Streaming Technologies will be mentored by Nirmala Gambhir, Director, Ovyo Tech Services
Roopa Naveen, Talent Acquisition Specialist, Ovyo Tech Services will be mentored by Sapna Gopinath, HR Director, Alten India
Sagarika Sahoo, Senior Workflow Integrations Engineer, DAZN will be mentored by Sai Srikanth S, CTO, TGM
Sangeetha V, Sales Head - APAC, Summa Linguae Technologies will be mentored by Ritu Sharma, Executive Director, The Indus Entrepreneur
Shilpy Rawal, Project Management, To the New will be mentored by Sulina Menon, Founder, MediaPower
Swati Jain, Technical Lead, Ovyo Tech Services will be mentored by K Yegneshwara Iyer, Consultant
Vaibhavi Gupta, Product Owner/Manager, Prime Focus Technologies will be mentored by Shuvayu Bhattacharya, Consultant - Business Growth,
Vibha Panjwani, Project Manager, To The New will be mentored by Akash Mittal, Product & Marketing - Samsung TV Plus, Samsung India
Jaya Myneni, Director - Content Strategy & Commercial Operations, Amagi will be mentored by Neeraj Jha, Director - Head of Content, Programming & Acquisition (Sports), Warner Bros. Discovery
Samritee B Verma, Senior Program Manager, Thebigword India will be mentored by Jyothi Nayak, EVP, Digital Media and Content Localization, Prime Focus Technologies
Jaswinder Arora, Director, RVJ Media Tech will be mentored by Nupur Srivastava, Head Sales, SONY