Rise AV, the award-winning advocacy group championing gender diversity and professional development in the AV sector, has announced 31 mentor-mentee pairings for the inaugural UK Mentoring Programme.
The free mentoring initiative is made possible through the generous support of Rise AV’s industry sponsors: Diversified, Midwich, Audiologic, AV User Group, Epson, iiyama, Shure, Faye Bennett Consultancy, LTSMG, Uniguest, Unicol, Nuvias UC, Kinly, Peerless, Hewshott UK, Exertis UK and proAV.
Participants accepted onto the Rise AV Mentoring Programme gain access to a host of exclusive benefits over six months, including face-to-face networking events, in-person and virtual skills workshops, and AV industry insights. Each mentor-mentee pairing also includes a minimum of 12 hours of tailored one-on-one guidance, designed to empower and equip the next generation of AV professionals.
The UK mentor and mentee pairings for the 2025 Rise Programme are as follows:
- Amy Pusey, Sales Manager, Nuvias UC, will be mentored by Elliott Moores, Vice President, CTI – Conference Technologies
- Amber Holbrook, Solutions Architect, Corporate, EMEA, Vizrt, will be mentored by Teymour Mossadeghi, Director – Service Architecture & Operations – Global Services, Kinly
- Anna Bateman, BDM Projects and Solutions, Visualization, will be mentored by Caroline Jessamy Gibbs, Global Client Services Manager, Kinly
- Beth Bailey, Junior Product Designer, Monitor Audio, will be mentored by Chris White, Technical Manager, Kramer
- Danni Hastings, Customer Service Executive, Hive Media Control, will be mentored by Pat Deeley, Managing Director, AV Jobs
- Danielle Louise, Business Development Executive / Account Manager, Midwich, will be mentored by Nouman Rahif, SVP – Sales, Yorktel
- Emily Hesslegrave, Senior Product Designer, Monitor Audio, will be mentored by Francis Williams, Technical Commercial Director, Diversified
- Evelyn Hogan will be mentored by Matthew Cowan, former Managing Director of MVS
- Celia Harvey, Apprentice AV Technical Support Officer, Loughborough University, will be mentored by Annika Range, Senior Delivery Manager, University of the Arts
- Georgina Austin Smith, Sales Director Major Bids and Strategic Relationships, Diversified, will be mentored by Jane Hammersley, Queen of Collaboration, Blue Touch Paper
- Freya Cottrell, AV Business Development Manager, Pioneer Group, will be mentored by Russell Harpum, European Sales Director, SCT
- Hanieh Motamedian, Business Development – Workspace Solutions, Pure AV, will be mentored by Daryl Clark, CEO, Matrix Consulting
- Helen Gander, Senior Account Coordinator, Harman, will be mentored by Sanjit Hurst, Global Procurement Director, Diversified
- Imogen Nicholas, Internal Sales Administrator, AVEX, will be mentored by Russell Leak, Senior Customer Success Manager, Vizrt
- Jemma Denson, Head of Special Projects, Uniguest, will be mentored by Michael Lammas, Managing Director, Train AV
- Joanna Milton will be mentored by Karen Horsup, Group Head of Marketing, Midwich
- Kate Farrelly, Head of Marketing, Nuvias UC, will be mentored by James Keen, EVP Marketing, Uniguest
- Kim Flower, Business Development Manager – Global Services, Kinly, will be mentored by Owen Ellis, Chairman, AV User Group
- Kya Torres, Associate Project Manager, AVI-SPL, will be mentored by Jonathan Cooper, CEO, Cooper Consulting
- Laura Sweeney, UX/UI Designer, 7thSense, will be mentored by Morgan Cameron, Head of Technical Design, 59 Studio
- Luna McAuthur Brown, Apprentice at Eclipse Presentations, will be mentored by Hayley Middlehurst, EU Distribution Manager, Sony Europe
- Lydia Box, Head of Engineering, Project AV, will be mentored by Stephen Patterson, CEO, Putterfish Displays
- Maria Ayuka Ikombo, Freelance Producer, will be mentored by Clark Henry Brown, Technical Associate, Experience Studios
- Nikki Freer, Senior Project Manager, Sysco Productions, will be mentioned by Chris Wintle Camp, Service Director, Aura Futures
- Rebecca Armstrong Payne, Student at the University of Gloucester studying Sound and Music Production, will be mentored by Hannah Sharma, Director of Sales – AV, Exertis UK
- Sandra Rogers, International Sales Manager, Clevertouch, will be mentored by Yag Depala, Sales Director, Aura
- Sarah Crane, Sales Manager – Central Canada, QSC, will be mentored by Gisela Ramirez, Sales Director, Exertis Almo
- Sarah Driver, Product Owner, Audinate, will be mentored by Daniel Lee, Managing Director, Hewshott UK
- Sarah Knapp, Procurement Manager. Sysco Productions will be mentored by Tim Hoddy, VP Sales Director, Uniguest
- Stevie Gedge, Senior Project Manager, Turner and Townsend, will be mentored by Rosie Green, Global Accounts VP, AVI-SPL UK
- Vanessa Tolisano, AV Programme Manager, Kinly, will be mentioned by Scott Josephson, Senior Engineer, Google
Due to an overwhelming global response, Rise AV is also piloting an online-only version of the programme, welcoming a US-based pairing ahead of the official launch of the full US Mentoring Programme in 2026.
Rachael Hamilton, managing director of Rise AV, said: “We’re incredibly proud to launch the inaugural UK Mentoring Programme and to see such a strong response from across the globe, highlighting the urgent need to support and elevate underrepresented talent in the AV industry. By connecting emerging professionals with experienced mentors, we are investing in individual career development and actively addressing the industry’s growing skills shortage by retaining and attracting talent and strengthening the talent pipeline. This programme aims to build a more diverse, resilient, and future-ready AV sector. None of it would be possible without the unwavering support of our industry sponsors, who share our vision for meaningful and lasting change.”
Rise AV’s impact is made possible by forward-thinking industry sponsors who want to see women advance, develop talent, and secure the sector’s future. Rise AV initiatives are only made possible through sponsorship. If you would like to pledge your support, contact [email protected] or visit for the sponsorship packages https://bit.ly/44iCPbS.
