Our Team

Esther is a powerhouse of brilliant ideas and the drive to get stuff done.  She’s from the north of England (Accrington, to be precise) and that grit and determination hasn’t left her.  She’s funny, smart and very useful. Most recently along with Denise Eriksen, she co-founded Media Mentors to help screen creatives bring their best selves to their work.

Esther is the CEO of Screen Careers and the driving force in taking this not-for-profit initiative to crew looking for career long learning opportunities and to anyone curious about working in the screen industry.

She’s what’s politely known as an “industry veteran” or, less politely as “you’re still here then?”  She does this work because she bloody loves telly and film and wants everybody to have the career they deserve and work for.  She loves teaching, MCing and public performance generally.  And a good chat.  

Most recently, Denise co-founded Media Mentors Australia with Esther Coleman-Hawkins to share her love of the screen industry with as many people as possible.  Denise is the Head of Programs and Training at Screen Careers and works with our advisory groups to ensure the programs we offer are exactly what the industry needs.

As Program Delivery Manager at ScreenCareers, I design and deliver industry training, mentoring and workforce development programs for screen practitioners at every level, from trainees to Heads of Department. I’m currently completing a Certificate IV in Mental Health at Federation TAFE, integrating formal wellbeing practice into the environments where it’s needed most: high-pressure, under-resourced screen and performing arts workplaces.

My perspective is grounded in 20 years as a working creative. As a Writer, Director, Producer and Dramaturg, I know these industries from the inside — and I bring that knowledge to senior work in programming, commissioning, literary development and arts leadership across national organisations, performing arts centres and touring companies. The scope of my work is national, with a deep knowledge of NSW, Victorian and Tasmanian ecosystems especially, including government support, fundraising and community engagement, and I work closely with boards, stakeholders and partners to shape strong programs and outcomes. I regularly assess scripts, development proposals and funding applications for industry, government and private clients across Australia, the UK and North America – including Creative Australia, Arts Tasmania and Vic Screen.

Meg originally trained in Pharmacy, has a knack for numbers and loves screen and creative arts. After leaving pharmacy and adding IT to her resume, Meg joined the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s IT and accounting team. It was here that she found her ideal working world, an administrator surrounded by creativity. 

In 2010 she moved to Melbourne and further honed her administrative skills before moving to Adelaide to work for the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT) as their administrator. From there Meg moved back to Melbourne to join the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) for 6 years as their Operations Manager. 

Now back in Wellington she is looking forward to this next step with Screen Careers.