Elevate Mentoring Programme Expands to Sydney and New York
Elevate, the world's largest free mentoring programme for event professionals, launches international hubs in Sydney and New York with backing from Amplify, Seed, and Wonder agencies.
Elevate, the world's largest free mentoring programme for event professionals, has established its first international operations outside the United Kingdom with new hubs in Sydney and New York. The expansion, announced in early 2026, comes after a decade of operations in London where the programme has supported over 2,500 event industry professionals.
The programme is backed by Amplify, Seed, and Wonder as Global Headline Partners, with the three agencies contributing resources, relationships, and expertise across their offices in Sydney, Los Angeles, and New York to support the launches.
Agency Partnership Drives International Growth
Founded in London approximately 10 years ago by Melissa Noakes, Max Fellows, and Peter Kerwood, Elevate provides free mentoring, training, and peer support to event professionals at all career stages, from emerging talent to CEOs and founders.
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The programme's expansion uses long-term relationships with senior agency executives. Jonathan Emmins, Founder and Global CEO of Amplify, and Dan Keene, Partner at Wonder, have supported Elevate since 2015 and serve on its advisory board.
"Elevate has always been about opening doors through connection, confidence and practical support. We're excited to take that mission global with the support of Amplify, Seed and Wonder, as we launch in the USA and Australia," said co-founders Max Fellows and Mel Noakes.
The Sydney hub launched in January 2026, followed by the New York hub in early February. Both operations are led by event industry professionals with direct Elevate experience.
Local Leaders Appointed for Each Market
Chloe Woodhouse, Director of Growth at Curious Nation and an experienced Elevate mentor, leads the Sydney hub as Project Lead. She receives support from Gareth Davies, Amplify APAC Managing Director and Executive Producer, and Kate Boekhorst, former Client Services Director at Seed London who recently joined Amplify's Sydney team.
"After experiencing the Elevate community in the UK first hand, I know how impactful Elevate Sydney will be in shaping people's careers and I feel privileged to play a role in bringing it to life and begin building the local Elevate community down under," Woodhouse said.
Jim Seal-Driver, Project Director at 160over90 with four years of Elevate experience in London, leads the New York hub. Jess McCarthy, Amplify US Partner in New York, supports the USA launch.
"Having spent four years with Elevate in London, I'm genuinely excited to meet and connect with people across the New York events scene," Seal-Driver said.
Applications Close Mid-February
Applications for mentors and mentees opened in November 2025 through the programme's website at www.elevateme.co, with a mid-February 2026 deadline. Mentor and mentee pairings will be announced in March 2026.
The expansion comes as professional development infrastructure matures across the events industry globally. A parallel programme, Rise AV Mentoring Program, launched its Asia-Pacific expansion for audiovisual professionals in 2025 to 2026, offering six months of mentorship with at least 12 hours of one-on-one support plus up to four in-person workshops in Hong Kong and Singapore.
"What makes events and experiences so special is the people and how those people come together to make creative ideas a reality and the impossible possible," said Gareth Davies, Amplify APAC Managing Director.
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