Meet Natalie Bencivenga

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Natalie Bencivenga a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Natalie, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?

It can be very challenging being in male-dominated industries such as media. Often, I have found myself to be the only woman in the room, or the youngest person in the room. People make up their minds about you before you have a chance to speak or share your ideas and perspectives. So you have to be consistent. You have to be deliberate in what you say and how you say it. You have to be willing to stand up for yourself, state your successes and acknowledge challenges. But I have found that you have to appear strong and capable at all times, which can be exhausting. When you are representing an entire group of people, the weight can be too much to carry. So, it is important to find your sense of self outside of the work that you do. Cultivate other interests. Invest in your relationships. Recognize that this may be what you do, but it isn’t who you are. The less power it holds over you, the more liberated you can be in the spaces you occupy. That unabashed sense of self will get you noticed.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Natalie Bencivenga is a socially conscious journalist, media personality and entrepreneur who uses her platforms to bring attention to issues that build equity in our communities.

In September of 2023, Natalie launched “In Conversation with Natalie Bencivenga” which airs every Saturday afternoon on 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA. Listeners can stream it live or listen after it airs on the Audacy App or at kdkaradio.com. She welcomes guests from all different walks of life to inspire, educate and activate the audience to take steps to create a more equitable world for all. Topics include politics, social justice, pop culture, science, history, art and much more!

She also hosts a digital-first news show for the Harrisburg-based nonprofit site, Pennsylvania Capital-Star called “Facts Over Fear” which won a prestigious Keystone Media Award in 2024. This weekly video series turns the focus away from fear and gets straight to the facts surrounding hot-button issues happening in Pennsylvania and occasionally the country. Watch a new episode every Thursday on Instagram or on the Pennsylvania Capital Star website and YouTube channel.

Natalie is a regular contributor on “TALK Pittsburgh,” KDKA’s newest afternoon talk show, with her own segment, “Be Inspired with Natalie B.” She highlights structural issues impacting our communities and ways to get inspired, educated and activated to make change that supports the many and not just the priviledged few.

In January of 2023, she produced and co-hosted the first ever weekly podcast for NEXTpittsburgh called “In Other News” with journalist Tony Norman which ran for ten episodes.

She produced and hosted “After Hours”, a weekly Pittsburgh City Paper instagram LIVE series in 2021-22 where she interviewed political candidates running for office in PA, as well as thought leaders to help educate people on the issues.

In August of 2021, with the support of The Heinz Endowments and 412 Food Rescue, she released a 10-episode series on YouTube show called “Heating Up” which “explores the intersection between the plant-based foods that we love to make with the conversations we need to be having around social justice and climate change.”

Natalie was voted “40 Under 40” in 2020 by Pittsburgh Magazine and PUMP. She was recognized in 2022 by City & State PA as one of “four influential Pittsburghers changing the city through media, art and activism. Inn 2020, she received the “One in a Million award” for her web series, #FiveMinutesWith… highlighting people working towards justice and equity in our communities that aired every Friday night on Alone Together Pittsburgh from March 2020 – June of 2021. She produced and hosted more than 70 weekly segments.

She currently writes the nationally digitally syndicated “Ask Natalie” advice column for the Universal Press Syndicate, the home of Dear Abby and Miss Manners. Her column debuted at number three on the site. She also writes for Pittsburgh Earth Day’s newsletter, The Green Voice, as well as TABLE Magazine.

She launched her own media production company, Benci Productions, LLC in 2022 and is currently in talks with WQED (the PBS affiliate in Pittsburgh) to launch her own series focused on the positive impacts of immigrants in the Pittsburgh region. Natalie has also been providing digital media consultation to clients across the country since 2016 through her award-winning company, XSquared Media, LLC, that she co-owns with business partner, Sara Bauknecht.

Natalie is the former SEEN editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and was nominated for the prestigious Sally Kalson Courage in Journalism Award in 2020. Her weekly column documented Pittsburgh social life in all its diversity. She broadened the reach of SEEN by expanding on the kinds of events that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette covers to showcase more of Pittsburgh’s communities and the good work being done by all types of people in the city.

In addition to reporting on the city’s social scene, Natalie co-hosted, co-produced and co-edited her mid-Atlantic Emmy nominated lifestyle Web show “Setting the SEEN” with then-style editor Sara Bauknecht.

From 2016-2019, she co-produced and co-hosted The BROADcast Podcast, a 2020 Golden Quill award winning podcast with journalist Kim Lyons that aimed to amplify women’s voices.

She has her MSW and truly believes that journalist is not just a pillar of a functioning democracy, but a form of social work that can be used to inspire, educate and activate us to build bridges with one another towards a more equitable and just future.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three qualities that have helped me the most are the courage of my convictions, my adaptable and resilient nature and my ability to connect with so many different types of people from many walks of life.

I would tell anyone who is at the beginning of their journey not to fixate so much on the end goal, but instead focus on the process of becoming who you want to be in the world. The right path will emerge from that. Be playful. You can’t produce great work if you do not feel a sense of creative freedom. Take the leap and bet on yourself because if you don’t, how can you get anyone else to buy in? And be kind to everyone you meet…regardless of whether they can “help” you along the way. At the end of the day, we are just here to walk each other home.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am absolutely looking for people to collaborate with me in digital-first spaces who believe in progressive policies that improve our lives. I am looking for people who have interesting experiences and want to share their knowledge with my audience on my radio show. I am looking to grow my presence on social media and find that collaborations are key in doing so. If you want to reach out to me, please do via email [email protected] or find me on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, BlueSky and Facebook: @nataliebencivenga. You can also visit my website: nataliebencivenga.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nataliebencivenga.com
• Instagram: @nataliebencivenga
• Facebook: @nataliebencivenga
• Linkedin: @nataliebencivenga
• Twitter: @nataliebencivenga
• Youtube: @nataliebencivenga
• Other: TikTok: @nataliebencivenga

Image Credits

John Craig Photography
Ben Petchel Photography