A Little About Us

A murmuration is a massive, synchronized flock of starlings that swoops and twists in fluid, shape-shifting patterns across the sky. It’s a chance for starlings to congregate and exchange information.

Organizations working for justice and community change are doing some of the most important work of our time. They are also navigating extraordinary complexity. Executive burnout, leadership transition, governance strain, staff disengagement, communication breakdown, growing pressure with shrinking capacity are interconnected challenges that tend to surface together. What shows up as a leadership challenge is often also a communication challenge. What presents as a governance issue is often also a culture issue. The health of each depends on the health of the whole.

Our work in governance, leadership, strategy, and organizational development is rooted in a simple belief: the internal conditions of an organization are the infrastructure the mission runs on. Years of deep study and practice across these interconnected areas have sharpened both our understanding of what organizations need and our capacity to help build it.

What becomes possible

Values without systems are aspirations. The intentional work of building the structures and practices is what makes those values visible in everyday life. The Hive Collective partners with organizations to build values-based governance systems, leadership architecture, and strategic infrastructure that close the distance between beliefs and systems. When that alignment takes root, culture stops being a document and starts being a lived reality. It shows up in the quality and durability of the work itself.

How we work

We work from the inside out, starting with organizational commitments, its wisdom, its people, and building the structures and practices that make those things visible in everyday life. That includes the governance systems that shape how decisions get made and accountability flows, the leadership development that grows capacity at every level, the strategic planning that gives direction and shared purpose, and the communications infrastructure that keeps people connected to each other and to the work.

Our commitment to the organizations we serve

The work we do with organizations is only as good as the work we do on ourselves. We invest seriously and continuously in our own development for bettering our facilitation skills, leadership theory, financial and fundraising knowledge, organizational psychology, and the kind of self-awareness that makes it possible to show up for clients.

We are here because we believe this work matters, and because the organizations we partner with are doing things that matter. That belief shapes everything: how we engage, how long we stay, and how seriously we take the responsibility of being trusted.

What Organizational Clients Say

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“They made complexity feel manageable. Our team walked away inspired and aligned.”
Ben WrobelCo-Founder, Proximate

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“Beth Ellen is a pioneer in governance. We left with a multi-year governance plan, bylaw guidance, and ongoing policy support.”
Maame Afon-Asai

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“Their strategic priorities were clear, realistic, and rooted in community voice. We’ve since used their plan as a model of how thoughtful governance and inclusive strategy make funding dollars go further.”
Foundation Program Officer

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“My team meetings have significantly changed. The staff seems more engaged in the decision making process and meetings are more productive.”
Coaching Client

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“Beth Ellen helped me feel empowered and equipped for the challenge of leadership, and a sense of calm now rests on me as I face the daily challenges.”
Coaching Client

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Beth Ellen helped me feel empowered and equipped for the challenge of leadership, and a sense of calm now rests on me as I face the daily challenges.”
CEO, Coaching Client

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"Working with The Hive Collective on our strategic plan helped us come together around a renewed, shared vision for our future. Through a well-structured and fun process, our board, staff, and community were able to reflect honestly, name the barriers we are facing, and translate our goals into practical next steps. We left with shared ownership and an implementation system that reflects who we are and where we are going."
Deloris Pinson, President/CEO and George Singleton VP/COOUpstate Circle of Friends

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My team meetings have significantly changed. The staff seems more engaged in the decision making process and meetings are more productive.”
COO, Coaching Client

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What Guides Us

Values Need Systems

Stated values that are embedded in structures and practices become culture. Culture is built intentionally, and that intention is a choice we make together.

Everything is connected

Leadership, governance, culture, and communication shape each other constantly. The health of each depends on the health of the whole.

Strategy belongs to everyone

Strategy takes hold when the people responsible for carrying it forward understand it, believe in it, and are equipped to act on it.

Leadership is developed

Strong organizations grow leaders at every level. Leadership is a practice, and it deepens with real investment, real support, and real accountability.

Transformation is yours

Every organization holds knowledge, experience, and commitment essential to its transformation. Our role is to help that wisdom take structural form.

Capacity Grows in Systems

The measure of our work is what grows after we are no longer in the room.

Our Team

Nonprofit Strategist · Leadership Coach · Organizational Facilitator

Beth Ellen Holimon is a nonprofit strategist, leadership coach, and organizational consultant dedicated to cultivating cultures of belonging, justice, and transformational impact. As Founder and CEO of The Hive Collective, she partners with mission-driven organizations to strengthen leadership, reimagine governance, and build the internal capacity needed for lasting, systemic change, guiding leaders and teams through the moments that matter most.

Beth Ellen’s career spans three decades of executive leadership across the nonprofit and social sector. As President & CEO of Together Women Rise, she led a national transformation that grew the organization to 500 giving circles in 46 states, expanded grantmaking to 175 organizations across 55+ countries, and launched landmark advocacy partnerships with the Peace Corps, UNICEF, and Michelle Obama’s Let Girls Learn initiative. Over the course of her career, she has raised millions for mission-driven organizations and guided multiple founders through critical organizational transitions with clarity and care.

She has advised nonprofit boards since 2006 and spent the early part of her career as a financial advisor, experience that gave her facility in organizational health and capital stewardship. Her work is shaped by a belief that good process is transformative in itself, and she draws on Technology of Participation (ToP) facilitation, Human Systems Dynamics, and Agile methodology to help organizations make value-based decisions and drive organizational culture. She has served as executive director or interim leader for six organizations in her career, doing the work alongside the people she serves.

Beth Ellen’s global perspective is rooted in partnership as she has worked alongside domestic violence shelters as a Rotary International Ambassador in Mexico, lived and taught in South Korea, and worked with INGOs across Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. A recognized voice in the sector, she teaches at the Pan African Leader Institute, was awarded the PALI Global Board Leadership Award, and hosted The Hive Collective Podcast, including a notable series on feminist governance.

Grounded in equity, accountability, and the practice of belonging, Beth Ellen empowers nonprofit leaders and organizations to disrupt oppression, navigate complexity, and build movements that endure.

Marketing Consultant · Communications Strategist · Leadership Partner

Stephanie Sawyer Brown is a marketing consultant, strategic advisor, and communications strategist with over 20 years of experience supporting organizations through growth, transition, and complexity.

Her work focuses on aligning strategy with internal and external communication, helping nonprofit leaders and teams translate vision into clear, actionable direction that can be understood and carried forward across the organization. She brings a systems-level perspective to her work, ensuring that strategy is not only defined, but consistently communicated and applied in practice.

She has held senior leadership roles within a consultancy influencing how women and girls are represented in media, supporting initiatives tied to global brands including Dove, Barbie, Disney, and Aerie. In that work, she guided cross-functional collaboration and contributed to large-scale brand and cultural campaigns that shaped both brand positioning and cultural conversation.

Her experience also extends internationally and across mission-driven organizations. She has led international teams through the launch of an award-winning financial platform supporting women entrepreneurs in East Africa and has supported nonprofit partners globally through communications and strategy work focused on expanding access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity.

Stephanie is known for her ability to synthesize complexity, strengthen alignment, and bring clarity to both internal and external communication. She works closely with leadership teams to ensure that strategy is not only well designed, but well understood, enabling organizations to move forward with cohesion and purpose. Her work helps organizations maintain alignment and trust during periods of growth, transition, and complexity.

Her approach is both strategic and deeply human, grounded in values-driven leadership and communication, supporting organizations not only in what they do, but in how they work together to do it well.

Marketing Consultant · Communications Strategist · Leadership Partner

Financial Model Developer · Architect · Analyst

Keith Albury, GISP brings over 25 years of experience in enterprise IT, database management, and geospatial systems. Currently a Digital Solutions Manager at AECOM, Keith has a proven track record of leading complex, multi-state technical projects and driving significant business growth. A skilled programmer fluent in Python, SQL, PHP, and more, he puts those capabilities to work for The Hive Collective’s Financial Modeling services by building the custom tools and code that power our data-driven solutions for clients.

Past Clients