Logo for The Radio Academy Mentoring Programme supported by Broadcast Bionics

Announcing 2024 RAMP Mentees

Meet our 2024 cohort and read their bios below.

RAMP cohort 2024, montage of all 24

 

2024 Mentors and Cohort

Introducing the 2024 Radio Academy Mentoring Programme cohort:

  • Soila Apparicio - Podcast Producer, Sky News
  • Jessica Beck - Producer, The Audio Long Read podcast at The Guardian
  • Rozeena Bernard - Assistant Producer, BBC Radio 2
  • Jess Bracey - Presenter and Producer, BFBS The Forces Station
  • Claire Crofton - Independent Audio Documentary Maker
  • Lisa Hack - Producer and Senior Technical Tutor, Goldsmiths, University of London
  • Kriss Herbert - Network Content Director, Gaydio
  • John Isherwood - Producer, Bald Builders Breakfast on Fix Radio
  • Faith Lawrence- Radio Producer, BBC
  • Anouska Lewis - Podcast Creator, BBC Sounds Audio Lab
  • Seun Matiluko - Podcast Creator, BBC Sounds Audio Lab
  • Rebecca Maxted - Producer, BBC Audio North
  • Laura Naylor - Head of Digital Content, Bauer Media
  • James Norman-Fyfe - Executive Producer, We Are Grape
  • John Offord - Freelance Producer, Media trainer and Journalist
  • Naomi Oiku - Freelance Radio and Podcast Producer
  • Anna Owen - Producer, BBC, on secondment to the prison service as Head of Radio and Music in Prisons
  • Adélie Pojzman-Pontay - Podcast Producer, The Telegraph
  • Kellie Redmond - Radio and Podcasts Executive Producer, Listen
  • May Robson - Podcast Creator, BBC Sounds Audio Lab
  • Taqwa Sadiq - Podcast Creator, BBC Sounds Audio Lab
  • Rob Tobin - Executive Producer, KISS Breakfast
  • Sarah Wade - Producer, BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Heather Wall - Producer, Jazz FM

Huge congratulations to our 2024 cohort who graduated in July. Check out our gallery of images from the day, with thanks to photography Vinnie Lo.

Mentors

By matching participants with an experienced senior leader in the industry, RAMP offers connections across the breadth of the audio industry at the highest levels.

The 2024 mentors include senior figures from the BBC, commercial broadcasters and independent production companies as follows:

  • Gloria Abramoff, Managing Director, Creators Inc
  • Innes Bowen, Executive Producer, BBC Studios
  • Chris Burns, Head of Audio and Digital, BBC England
  • Laura Busson, Commissioning Executive, BBC Radio 2
  • Camilla Byk, Co-Founder, Podium.me
  • Mike Cass, Content Director, Virgin Radio
  • Victoria Easton-Riley, Content Director for Bauer Scotland
  • Dylan Haskins, Commissioning Editor, Podcasts for BBC Sounds & BBC Radio 5 Live
  • Beena Khetani, Talent Executive, BBC Studios - Factual
  • Emma Jane Kirby, Producer, Blanchard House
  • Rachel Mallender, Content Director, Bauer Media Audio UK
  • Sheena Mason, Deputy Content Director, Magic Radio
  • Phil Maynard, Executive Producer, Today in Focus
  • Jo Meek, Head of Factual and Development, Audio Always
  • Mike Newman, Vice President, UK Content and Production, Audioboom
  • Tony Pastor, Co-Founder, Goalhanger Podcasts
  • Ray Paul, Creative Director, The Playmaker Group
  • Tony Phillips, Freelance Podcast Executive and Consultant
  • David Prest, Managing Director, Whistledown Productions
  • Chris Skinner, Vice President and Head of Content, Sony Music
  • Andrew Spence, Director of Operations, We Are Unedited
  • Dixi Stewart, Managing Director, SandStone Global Productions
  • Steve Taylor, Creative Commercial Director, Bauer
  • Helen Thomas, Head of BBC Radio 2
  • Adam Uytman, Director of Client Relations and Business Development, ReelWorld

Cohort

Soila

Soila Apparicio is a podcast producer at Sky News. Soila has worked across Sky News's podcast titles for over two years, making the Daily, Politics at Jack and Sam's, and producing the mini-series Queen Camilla: For The Love Of Charles. Before Sky News, Soila made audio documentaries for BBC Radio 4 and the World Service. That was a move away from TV production on BBC Newsnight and Click. But even before that, Soila freelanced in audio, contributing to The Missing Cryptoqueen and a range of independent podcasts, including for Climate Home News and award-winning Very Loose Women, which she presented and produced with friends on Resonance FM.

Jessica Beck

Jessica Beck was a theatre director before getting her start in audio as a BBC production trainee on The Jeremy Vine Show on Radio 2. She is currently the producer of The Audio Long Read podcast at The Guardian. Prior to that Jessica worked as a field producer for National Public Radio. For the BBC, she’s worked on all the Radio 4 news programmes, Woman’s Hour, Beyond Today, and Radio 3. For Audible, she was a producer on Heist with Michael Caine. Next month, Jessica’s excited to be joining the team on Bloomberg’s daily podcast The Big Take.

Rozeena

Rozeena Bernard is an Assistant Producer for BBC Radio 2. She was first introduced to radio whilst studying at The Brit School for Performing Arts, working on their student radio station BRIT FM.  She started her career at the BBC on a one-year internship working on Steve Wright in the Afternoon Show. She then progressed from that role to a full time Assistant Producer position. Since then she’s worked across different daytime programmes, often stepping up to produce shows such as Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, Steve Wright in the Afternoon and Sara Cox.

She’s also had the opportunity to work on ad hoc programmes and podcasts for BBC Radio 2 including Trevor Nelson’s Divas podcast series. She also did a one-year Producer attachment on 1Xtra working across both daytime and specialist programmes. She now works as an Assistant Producer on Trevor Nelson’s Rhythm Nation show.

jessica

Jess Bracey is a Presenter and Producer for BFBS The Forces Station. She’s lived and worked in the Falkland Islands, Cyprus, Bahrain and Estonia, delivering on the BFBS ethos of entertaining, informing, connecting and championing our armed forces, their families, veterans and the wider military community. Some career highlights include DJing on a Navy ship in the Gulf, reporting from the BRITs, going behind the scenes of Edwards Air Force Base, California, with the F-35 fighter jet, and hitching a ride in a Challenge 2 Tank all in the name of radio. Previous to BFBS she worked with BBC Introducing in the West making music specials from Maida Vale and content gathering from Glastonbury Festival. 

Claire Crofton

Claire Crofton is an award-winning audio documentary maker who has crafted arts documentaries for the BBC, reported on progressive economics for Radio New Zealand, produced and hosted a multipart narrative series for iHeart Radio and created the independent podcast Swipe Left Swipe Left. Now based in Cornwall, she is focused on setting up a production company to bring stories and talent from the South West to national and international listeners, as well as creating audio for cultural organisations in her county. She is keen to develop the skills required to run a community-minded, ethical business that is financially sustainable.

lisa Hack

Lisa Hack is an audio producer and a Senior Technical Tutor for audio radio and podcasts at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her background is in music and community radio and she worked at the BBC World Service as a Studio Manager for 20 years working across news, features, and  in the UK and on location around the world. 

Lisa is one of the founders and a trustee for Multitrack, a charity that creates career changing opportunities for emerging producers while helping the radio and podcast industry to become more accessible and inclusive.

Kriss

Kriss Herbert is the Network Content Director for Gaydio - overseeing 2 community licenses (Gaydio in Manchester & Brighton) as well a string of SSDAB and DAB outputs. His career started tech-oping for Smooth Radio, before moving to BBC Radio Manchester where he hosted weekend overnights, and covered evening and weekend shows. He started at Gaydio in 2006 as a volunteer presenter before becoming staff in 2014, from station assistant, to commercial production, presenter, station sound, marketing and becoming director in 2023. When not working in radio Kriss can be found DJ’ing on the LGBTQ+ Scene.

JOhn Isherwood

John Isherwood is the on-air producer of the ARIA-nominated Bald Builders Breakfast on Fix Radio, where he also hosts the early doors show, along with covering other shows and specials. Prior to this, John had a successful four-year stint on overnights for the Hits Radio network across the UK as well as presenting on Bauer’s local stations across Yorkshire & the North-West and Heat Radio too. John has a passion for storytelling and creating fun, relatable radio whether on the mic or behind it, and loves driving new talent forward. Away from radio, John is a pop culture addict, contributor to the Daily Star, regular gym goer and at times puts on some tights and gets in the ring as a pro wrestler.

Faith in meadows 1

Faith Lawrence is a radio producer, she’s made documentaries for BBC Radio 4 (including Melvyn Bragg’s ten part history ‘The Matter of the North’ and Simon Armitage’s series on the poet Philip Larkin), as well as hundreds of editions of BBC Radio 3’s ‘The Verb’ (including profile interviews with Claudia Rankine, Salman Rushdie, and Margaret Atwood). For her PhD in Creative Writing Faith explored how poets listen to the natural world, and has had her own poetry published. She’s fascinated by the way we talk about sustainability in the media and by how we can tell stories about the future.

Participants of BBC AudioLab 2023

Anouska Lewis is fascinated by past events and creating content for Gen Z audiences. A 2023 graduate of the BBC Sounds Audio Lab creator programme, she wrote and presented a 6-part series called Hometown Boring? - exploring the hidden histories of overlooked towns and cities across the UK. Before Audio Lab, Anouska worked in a secondary school and as a market researcher. She is thrilled to be joining independent production company Goalhanger to work across their History slate.

Seun Matiluko Headshot 2024

Seun Matiluko is a British-Nigerian journalist who has written for a variety of publications including Glamour Magazine, The i paper and The Independent. Previously shortlisted for national journalism awards, Seun currently writes a regular interview series about British MPs for The House magazine. Seun has been a part of BBC Sounds Audio Lab 2023 and previously worked in the human rights sector after graduating from Harvard Law School.

Rebecca Maxted

Rebecca Maxted is an award-winning producer for BBC Audio North at MediaCityUK in Salford. She’s been making audio content for nearly two decades, first in the independent sector and then in-house at the BBC. Rebecca’s passions include music and popular culture, our climate and telling the stories of lesser-heard voices; helping us all to better understand the world and each other. 

Rebecca helped launch The Huey Show at BBC Radio 6 Music, produced several weekend strands for BBC Radio 2 and developed and ran two innovative conservation campaigns for Radio 2 (R2's Big Bee Challenge, Let it Grow with partners Blue Peter) to help audiences look after the nature on our doorsteps. She’s produced over 20 documentaries covering nearly every BBC radio network, and is an experienced Senior Broadcast Journalist, with a successful stint in news at BBC Radio 5 live and a recent award for Journalism from the 2023 Sandford St Martin Awards for ‘Beyond Belief - Putin’s Religious War’.

Laura Naylor

Laura Naylor has been working in media for 14 years, with nine of those in a digital role at Bauer Media producing content for radio stations such as KISS, Hits Radio and Magic. As Head of Digital Content, Laura is always looking for ways to build and maintain digital audiences. Working with a small team of talented editors, they write music, showbiz and station news articles that drive huge audiences.

She is a huge fan of music and gigs, and really loves to listen to the radio stations she works on. Laura is always looking for ways to develop professionally, and is looking forward to working with a mentor.

James Norman Fyfe

James Norman-Fyfe is an Executive Producer at We Are Grape where he leads on the production of radio programmes across BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music, as well as on original and branded podcasts. Prior to this, James worked on the production of a wide range of audio - from celebrity interview formats and children’s audio to the Radio 1 Drivetime Show and the BBC’s reflection of events like Glastonbury, Sports Relief and Reading Festival. James was also an Assistant Commissioner for Music Programming on BBC Sounds and has previously worked in content strategy and corporate communications.

John Offord

John Offord is an audio producer, media trainer and journalist. He’s produced Pick of the Week and the Truth about Tourette’s for BBC Radio 4, Pick of the World, Heart & Soul and British music Caribbean’s roots for BBC World Service. He’s also worked on Saturday Live, Last Word, Sunday and the Media Show for BBC Radio 4. John worked in Zambia last year for BBC Media Action, delivering creative audio package making training. John also produces podcasts on a regular basis for BBC Young Reporter.

Naomi Oiku Headshot

Naomi Oiku is a freelance producer with experience working in podcasting, commercial and specialist radio. She was part of the Student Radio Association volunteering for five years, including three years as the Chair of the organisation. Naomi has a wealth of experience working at Transmission Roundhouse, Virgin Radio and Sony Music Entertainment, formerly known as Somethin’ Else working with high-profile talent including Trevor Nelson, Liza Tarbuck, Cerys Matthews and Arielle Free. Naomi is a Radio Academy 30 Under 30 alumni and has recently been awarded with an Honorary Life Membership from the Student Radio Association.

anna Owen

Anna Owen is a BBC radio producer currently on secondment to the prison service as Head of Radio and Music in Prisons. The job is as unusual as it sounds and both fascinating and challenging in equal measures! Anna has worked in BBC network news as a producer and reporter for many years. However, she is increasingly motivated by the desire to make a difference and to use media to change lives for the better. 

In between stints at the BBC Anna has worked for international organisations such as the EU, the UN and the OSCE on election observation missions in many different countries including Kenya, Nepal, Kosovo, the West Bank and Ukraine. She is still in love with the magic of creating pictures out of sound and the kind of radio that compels you to stay in your car and keep listening, despite having reached your destination.

adelie

Adélie Pojzman-Pontay made a life-altering decision in 2022: to accept a job as the Telegraph’s first narrative podcast producer, uprooting her life from France. Prior to moving to London, she pioneered narrative podcasts in Paris as well as worked with studios in the UK and the US. Her most notable work is a seven-part series on a trial where citizens sued the French state to obtain slavery reparations in the French Caribbeans. Réparations was nominated in France’s leading audio festival and won a silver medal at the International Women’s Podcast Award in London. Adélie has a journalism masters from Columbia University and has worked for outlets in Florida, Chile and Israel.

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Kellie Redmond is a multi-award-winning Radio and Podcasts Exec Producer at one of the UK’s leading production agencies, Listen. Her experience spans music and entertainment radio plus speech-based podcasts and documentaries. She is also a trained Journalist.

Kellie has worked with a range of well-known names across a diverse range of projects for clients including The BBC (Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 1, 6 Music, Asian Network and BBC Sounds), ITV, BMW, Warner Music, Sky, The National Lottery and Bloomberg.

Her awards include being named ‘Best Music Entertainment Producer’ two-years-running at the Audio Production Awards, while her latest is a 2023 British Podcast Award for Best Interview Podcast.

Participants of BBC AudioLab 2023

May Robson is an audio producer and freelance journalist. She was recently supported by BBC Sounds Audio Lab to write, produce and present Now Here, a six-part podcast that tells the stories of people across the UK fighting back in the face of neighbourhood decline and neglect. Before Audio Lab, May produced podcasts for The New Statesmanand has written about social issues for Open Democracy, the New Statesman, and others.

Participants of BBC AudioLab 2023

Taqwa Sadiq is a storyteller working across audio, film, and art. Inspired by her BA Middle Eastern Studies (Cantab) and MA Documentary Practice (UCL), her work aims to bridge people, languages, and cultures. Taqwa has recently produced and presented a five-part documentary podcast for BBC Audio Lab called Sacred Money. Her earlier work has featured on BBC Radio 4 and FBi radio (Australia), and she previously hosted the Made at UCL podcast. Taqwa recently won second prize at the Sheffield Doc/Fest Whicker’s Podcast Pitch. Her Charles Parker prize-winning piece was praised in The Observer, Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Sunday Times, and The Mail on Sunday.

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Rob Tobin is Exec Producer of KISS Breakfast with Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely, and has led the breakfast team at KISS for almost four years. Rob's taken the show on a UK tour with Jordan and Perri's dance group Diversity, produced interviews with the world's biggest stars, created branded content for the likes of Nando's, Sony, and Warner Bros, and led a week long promotion from LA for the launch of The Kardashians on Disney+. Rob was previously Network Producer at Hits Radio for five years, and became the youngest ever member of The Radio Academy 30 under 30 aged 18. 

Heather

Heather Wall is a producer at Jazz FM, having cut her teeth at 7digital, AP'ing and producing shows across the BBC including Tony Blackburn's Golden Hour and Pick of the Pops (R2), Sashay to Hell (R1) and Jazz Now (R3).

As well as her day to day duties of producing high profile weekend specialist programmes, she's produced Deb Grant's Story of Montreux, recorded at Montreux Jazz Festival, David Jensen's Jazz, exploring the disk jockey's love for the genre, and 'A Portrait of Mingus', reframing the infamous jazz bassist as a radical, and a victim of his circumstances.

Sarah Wade

Sarah Wade is a producer at BBC Radio 4 Extra. After two years teaching in former Czechoslovakia, she started her radio career at the BBC World Service (as it turns out, as a PA to a spy) subsequently working at BBC English, Radio 4 Light Entertainment, and then as a Literary Copyright Executive. She now produces Poetry Extra, a weekly programme sharing the BBC’s rich poetry archive.  The author of two books (Find Your Dream Job and Start Your Dream Business), Sarah is delighted to have this opportunity to learn new skills, meet inspiring, positive people and explore new possibilities.