Who we are

ALLIUM’S STORY

I bring together three strands of experience — journalism, organizational leadership, and coaching — to help mission-driven leaders move forward with clarity and confidence.

In 2022, I was contemplating what my next role might be after serving as editor-in-chief and publisher of a nonprofit newsroom. A few months of independent work made something clear: I could help more people, and help them more effectively, as a consultant and coach than I could inside any one institution.

That realization led to Allium Partners.

  • learner

  • cook

  • eater

More about me

Bene Cipolla
Founder of Allium Partners
LinkedIn

I’ve spent my career moving between journalism, nonprofits, and startups — environments that require agility and user-centered thinking. Over the years, I’ve worked across almost every type of media (enterprise reporting, breaking news, service journalism, community engagement, and instructional content) and built expertise in organizational strategy.

I’m a systems thinker with a creative streak (or a creative who depends on good systems), and I’ve never believed in the left-brain/right-brain divide. Big ideas are essential, but I’m most fulfilled when I’m helping people turn those ideas into something real and workable.

I bring that systems lens to my consulting and coaching work, overlaid with a commitment to impact and the collective good. I’ve always been drawn to the intersection of people, purpose, and structure: why we do what we do, how we do it, and what gets in the way.

I started in film production in Rome — learning how ideas take shape, how teams collaborate (making a movie takes more than a village!), and how vision becomes reality. From there, I moved into journalism as a reporter and editor. I learned to listen closely and bring clarity to complex issues.

In 2008, as it became clear how big an impact digital would have on the industries I loved, I decided to move into early-stage startups at the forefront of digital innovation.

My time in startups taught me about launching products, scaling organizations, managing operations, and driving revenue — experiences that enriched my work back in journalism when I returned.

I spent five years as editor-in-chief and then publisher of Chalkbeat, the nonprofit news organization covering public education. I both led the newsroom and set up the structures and practices across the entire organization to establish a multi-vertical operation, now known as Civic News Company. 

I earned a college degree (English major, when people still majored in English) from Princeton, was a Fulbright Scholar in Italy, and was a Sulzberger Executive Leadership Fellow at Columbia Journalism School. I’ve also served on several advisory boards connected to journalism and media.

I live in New York, where most of my free time revolves around cooking, eating, and talking about cooking and eating. Cooking satisfies the same impulses that drew me to this work: it’s equally structured and creative, full of history and culture, and always better when shared.