“The need for connection and community is primal, as fundamental as the need for air, water, and food.”
MY SERVICES
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1:1 Coaching for Connection
Loneliness and disconnection are still echoing after years of social distancing. My 1:1 coaching is designed to help you find your people again.
As a certified VITA™ Coach, I work with individuals to:
Identify your interests, values, and personal rhythm of connection.
Offer practical tools for meeting new people, breaking the ice, and practicing social confidence.
Guide you toward meaningful friendships, hobby buddies, and circles of belonging.
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Community Architecture & Strategy
Fractional Chief Community Officer – design and lead community strategy from scratch or scale existing programs.
Community Program Design – build ambassador/insider/braintrust programs that deepen user engagement and expand networks .
Community Feedback Systems – implement structured playbooks for triaging and responding to feedback, bugs, and feature requests .
Superuser & Influencer Engagement – identify, activate, and reward high-value community members with programs that drive organic growth
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Experience & Event Design
Immersive Event Production – design, produce, and operationalize high-touch gatherings like Mozi Landings, SXSW activations, and cultural summit events .
Focus Groups & Panels – design and facilitate community research dinners, feedback circles, and panel events to shape product and strategy .
Partnership Event Integrations – secure and manage brand/event partnerships that amplify reach, including sponsorship packages, partner activations, and co-branded experiences .
Experience Design Advisory – curate rituals, connection formats, and programming that create belonging and spark virality in community activations.
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Growth, Retention & Social Strategy
Community-led Growth Systems – build frameworks like Insiders programs that reward organic actions and expand the social graph .
User Research & Product Insights – run structured research through panels, focus groups, and real-time event onboarding to feed actionable product feedback .
Social Strategy & Content Systems – architect lean but effective social media playbooks, briefs, and in-house systems for campaigns .
Retention Playbooks – design incentives, leaderboards, rituals, and content systems that make users feel seen and keep them engaged
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Partnerships & Ecosystem Development
Strategic Partnerships – design and negotiate B2B and B2C partnerships that drive adoption, sponsorship, and brand alignment .
Ecosystem Mapping – identify and engage aligned communities, cultural hubs, and organizations for co-growth (festivals, universities, cultural institutes, etc.).
Co-branded Campaigns – manage creative briefs, vendor partnerships, and sponsor deliverables that add value to both product and partner communities.
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Advisory & Facilitation
Investor/Advisory Facilitation – design and steward key humans that offer candor and insight.
Leadership Alignment – guide internal teams through community values, mission, and cultural guidelines to ensure cohesion.
Community Culture Consulting – craft value maps, rituals, and reward systems that keep communities intrinsically motivated.
About me
Justine Benanty is a community architect, coach, and entrepreneur who helps people and organizations design spaces of belonging, growth, and transformation. She brings over 14 years of experience building communities across tech, Web3, and culture—with a unique foundation in maritime archaeology and a lifelong passion for storytelling, connection, and the heart.
Before stepping into the world of community and coaching, Justine was a maritime archaeologist working on some of the most significant projects in the field: the Sao Jose slave shipwreck (the first archaeologically documented slave shipwreck), WWII Tuskegee aircrafts, and heritage preservation projects across the Middle East and Caribbean. Her work was co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History & Culture, the National Park Service, and The George Washington University. Over eight years, she led large-scale outreach initiatives in four countries and co-founded Youth Diving With a Purpose, a scholarship program teaching students worldwide how to map shipwrecks for the National Park Service and NOAA.
Carrying her love for oceans forward, she became a certified alignment-based yoga instructor and the inventor of SirenYoga, the first underwater yoga practice blending breath, movement, and conservation.
Today, Justine consults with DTC, B2B, and Web3 companies on community architecture, event design, and growth strategy—and she coaches individuals seeking deeper connection and belonging. As a certified VITA™ Coach, she helps clients build meaningful relationships, strengthen their social confidence, and rediscover joy in community.
At the core of her work is a belief in the power of vulnerable storytelling and leading with heart—whether she’s guiding a founder, producing an immersive cultural activation, or supporting someone in finding their people.