Ashley Williams is not only one of the Hallmark Channel‘s most popular stars, she’s also carved out a second career behind the camera.
In addition to producing her own Hallmark projects, she’s also become a director. Following her feature debut with the TV movie “Ann Rule’s Circle of Deception,” she’s also directed episodes of hit ABC cop show “The Rookie” and the Paramount+ movie “A Nashville Country Christmas.
Williams was among the stars on a recent panel hosted by the Television Critics Association to makr Hallmark Channel’s 25th anniversary. During the course of the panel, she opened up about a program she’s launched at Hallmark aimed at creating opportunities for women to direct.
Make Her Mark
Williams’ program, Make Her Mark, was designed to give aspiring directors the opportunity to get behind the camera of a Hallmark production, shadowing the project’s director, who’ll act as a mentor.
“Hallmark actor and creative partner Ashley Williams founded the on-the-job mentorship initiative to grant aspiring female filmmakers the opportunity to shadow an established Hallmark director throughout the entire production process of a Hallmark movie,” notes the Hallmark website.
In November 2025, Hallmark fan favorite Nikki DeLoach joined the program, and will hopefully be directing her first Hallmark feature in the near future.
Outside the Box
During the Hallmark panel, Williams was asked about Make Her Mark, and shared a progress update.
“I so appreciate it when people ask me about this,” she said.
“Yeah, the Make Her Mark program was born of the fact that I just felt like I wanted more female directors behind the camera at the network,” Williams continued. “And luckily, everybody was incredibly receptive to the idea. You know, it’s kind of outside the box. But at the time I said, ‘You know, we make 100 movies a year. Why can’t we make our set a training ground for up-and-coming female directors? ‘And the network agreed, thank goodness.”
A Mission with a Difference
Williams continued by explaining what sets Make Her Mark apart from other similar initiatives.
“So what makes our program really different is that we train the women, we don’t just employ them,” she explained.
“And that means that we set them up for success,” she added. “And Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, our inaugural graduate of the program, is about to direct her eighth movie.”
Full Circle
Like Williams, Lowe does double duty for Hallmark, appearing as both actor and director in various projects. Behind the camera, for example, she directed 2025’s “Pie to Die For: A Hannah Swenson Mystery.”
The success that Lowe has achieved at Hallmark through Make Her Mark has taken the whole thing full circle, with the program’s first graduate now mentoring other aspiring female directors.
“And what’s really exciting is that this time, you know, the way the program works is it’s a mentorship program,” Williams explained.
“So at one point, Crystal was mentored by a veteran director. And on this upcoming movie, she is going to be the veteran director who is mentoring an up-and-coming female director who’s going to get her directorial debut,” Williams added. “The director’s name is Sarah Wilson Thacker. She is a consummate professional, absolutely incredible, and has been ready for this and waiting for a very long time. So she’s going to kill it. Look forward to future projects directed by Sarah Wilson Thacker through the program.”
