Testimonials

  • "Our ask for Bene was big — to help us create a bold and achievable long-term plan for the impact of the Documenters Network in just 6 months, with input from many stakeholders — and she delivered. She walked us through a highly responsive, collaborative, and iterative process that held together big-picture visioning and the nuts and bolts of program implementation."

    — Jody Chong, Documenters Network Director, and Darryl Holliday, City Bureau Co-Founder

  • "Bene is one of the most emotionally intelligent people — or professionals — I've met. She shared that gift with me generously and helped me grow my own EQ and self awareness in ways that were immediately applicable to my work. Bene is a strategic thinker and an empathetic, active listener. Her approach to coaching starts with listening and understanding your needs — and your goals — and matching her strategy to your situation."

    — Adeshina Emmanuel, Managing Editor for Local, Capital B

  • "Bene's coaching has been pivotal in both LebTown's growth and my personal development over the past year. Her unique combination of firsthand experience, extensive industry knowledge, and empathetic approach is both inspiring and invigorating. She genuinely grasps the challenges faced by local media startups on both organizational and individual levels. Thanks to Bene, I feel more confident and prepared to keep forging ahead."

    Davis Shaver, founder of LebTown

  • "Working with Bene has been a DREAM. She took a huge project, dove in with enthusiasm, broke it down, and executed it beautifully — leaving internal and external stakeholders ecstatic about her work. Bene is superb at taking an enormous amount of information, synthesizing it, focusing in on the most critical and salient parts, and then elevating those themes into a cohesive narrative. I am extraordinarily grateful for Bene's partnership and professionalism!"

    — Amanda Lenhart, Head of Research, Common Sense Media

  • "As a highly skilled coach, Bene made invaluable contributions to our GNI Startups Lab on Building and Managing a Team. Her ability to identify and address areas for improvement, provide feedback, and help participants set and work towards specific goals was instrumental in the program's success. Additionally, Bene helped create a collaborative learning environment, fostering a sense of community and teamwork among program coaches."

    — Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, Senior Manager of Coaching, LION

  • "Bene has been a key strategic partner for the American Journalism Project. When she started working with us, it took less than an hour for her to feel already a part of the team. Her kind of strategic rigor and organizational knowledge made her ability to meaningfully contribute — both strategically and tactically — possible."

    — Sarabeth Berman, CEO of the American Journalism Project

  • "At a critical point in our evolution, Bene helped us dream in color and at scale."

    — Sam Hoisington and Hayley Sperling, co-founders of Madison Minutes

  • “Bene's superpower is taking in complex ideas from multiple stakeholders and giving them clarity, sense, and action. She is an editor — of words, plans, and organizations. And she works with a deep humility, humanity, moral compass, and sense of fun, too.”

    — Elizabeth Green, CEO and Founder, Civic News Company (parent organization of the nonprofit newsrooms Chalkbeat and Votebeat)

  • Bene became my coach for the INN's Emerging Leaders Cohort this summer, helping me navigate, evaluate and restructure partnerships in which our newsroom was engaged. In addition to guiding me on that process, Bene was there as other management-related issues came up. She helped keep me sane at a difficult time and provided solid advice and feedback. I feel so lucky to be matched with her for this program and to have gotten to work with her at just the right time at this point in my career.

    — Laurén Abdel-Razzaq, Executive Director, BridgeDetroit

  • "I worked with Bene over the course of several months to create an onboarding process for editors in collaborative journalism projects. She clearly understood my goals and offered valuable feedback and ideas to refine my project. Bene is so effective because she's an empathetic coach. She listens carefully, provides valuable insight, and helps streamline disorganized thoughts with a 'What I'm hearing you say is...' I hope I get to work with Bene again!"

    —Colleen Murphy, Managing Editor, Local Network, Open Campus

  • Bene worked closely with us to plan our first all staff convening in over four years. She took our ambitions for the output and developed a cohesive agenda that enabled open and productive discussions. She has a natural talent for reading the room and adapting facilitation styles to suit the needs of the group. Bene skillfully guides conversations in constructive directions, while giving everyone an opportunity to contribute meaningfully. Under her facilitation, our team has gained new insights and made significant progress on key goals. I highly recommend Bene for any facilitator role where insight, diplomacy and results matter.

    — Sumi Aggarwal, Chief Strategy Officer, The Intercept

  • I had the pleasure of working with Bene to plan and facilitate The Open Notebook’s first-ever in-person retreat, bringing together our entirely remote board and team for the first time in our 14-year history. Bene took the time to understand our organization deeply, listening carefully to me and others on our team and using those insights to craft an agenda that was exceptionally responsive to our needs and goals. Her sensitivity to the values of inclusivity and community that are at the core of our work shone through in every aspect of her work. Bene was a true thought partner, seamlessly weaving together our ideas with her own expertise to create an experience that left us all feeling connected, energized, and joyful. Bene's organization, reliability, and genuine warmth made the entire process enjoyable, and her thoughtful facilitation brought out the best in every participant. I couldn't have asked for a more dedicated or skilled partner.

    — Siri Carpenter, Executive Director, The Open Notebook