Rise AV Announces 2026 Elevate Cohort

Rise AV has announced the 23 women selected for its 2026 Elevate programme, bringing together professionals from 20 organizations across the UK, Ireland, Germany, and France.

Now in its second year, Elevate is a six-week management and leadership development program designed to equip women with practical skills for leading teams, managing people, and making confident business decisions.

"We spend a lot of time talking about how to attract new people into AV, but we need to put just as much energy into keeping the talented people we already have," says Rachael Hamilton, managing director at Rise AV.

"Women are still underrepresented in leadership, and we can't afford to lose their experience and potential as they progress through their careers. Elevate is about investing in that talent, giving women the tools and opportunities to grow into leadership roles and helping businesses build stronger teams for the future."

Each delegate will be supported by a senior AV industry leader through Rise AV's Jedi coaching model. This year's Jedis are Martine Dodwell-Bennett (Absen), Wayne Mason (Neat), Gary Keene (University of the Arts) and Danielle Myburgh (Pixel Global).

Meet the 2026 Elevate cohort:

*Amy Amesbury, director of partner marketing, Kinly
*Kim Beard, product development and account manager, Digibox
*Anna Bell, head of operations, Southby Productions
*Danielle Bond, operations director, MADE AV
*Emily Burrows, associate director, Plaster PR
*Carina Dengler, regional sales manager, QSC
*Amanda Greaves, client services and sales manager, Electrosonic
*Danielle Hastings, sales team and HR coordinator, Hive
*Ashleigh Harding, sales manager, end user sales team, Sharp Displays
*Stephanie Izzi, global head of brand awareness and thought leadership, Shure
*Emma Kemp, purchasing manager UK, Diversified
*Kelly Legood, financial controller UK&I, Midwich
*Rebecca Lloyd, global program director, Kinly
*Elena Lown, technical support manager, Brompton
*Laura McCarthy, business development manager, Hereworks
*Cassy Anyiam, BDR manager, Neat
*Amy Pusey, head of sales and vendor operations, Konekt
*Ruth Read, director, blooloop
*Sandra Schröder, manager, audio foundation, Sennheiser
*Lauren Sweeney, UX/UI designer, 7th Sense
*Carys Thomas Steer, head of installs, sales and special projects, Southby Productions
*Fay Vincent, visual technologies facilitator, James Hutton
*Georgia Watson, European marketing executive, Konekt

Thanks to the support of Rise AV's sponsors, the program is heavily subsidized, with places costing 550-950 pounds depending on company size, against an estimated commercial value of 3,000 pounds per delegate.

Rise AV thanks its global headline partners, QSC and Neat; gold sponsors, Diversified, Audiologic, Sennheiser, Kinly and Shure; and its silver and bronze sponsors for their continued support. ,p> Organizations interested in supporting women through the October 2027 program are encouraged to plan ahead and include Elevate in their professional development budgets.

Register your interest in Elevate 2027.