Samantha Bennet is the Vice President of Programs & Operations at BlueLena, where she leads the design and execution of scalable operational frameworks and strategic programs that strengthen newsroom success and internal excellence. Since joining BlueLena in September 2023, Samantha has been instrumental in building and refining processes that enhance organizational performance and deliver consistent value to publisher partners.
With over a decade of experience working closely with local newsrooms, Samantha brings deep expertise in audience development, cross-functional collaboration, training, and go-to-market strategy. She has a proven track record of elevating newsroom capabilities by integrating operational best practices with forward-thinking solutions tailored to the complex needs of mission-driven journalism organizations.
Prior to BlueLena, Samantha served on the U.S. News Partnerships team at Meta, where she worked directly with news organizations on products such as CrowdTangle and Bulletin, providing strategic guidance, educational resources, and practical insights that helped publishers leverage digital tools effectively. Before that, she led social media strategy for CBS’s owned and operated local television stations, where she built and deployed social syndication systems, led newsroom training on SaaS platforms, and pioneered scalable newsroom workflows that drove engagement and operational efficiency.
Samantha holds a degree from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism and lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with her husband and two children.