Julie Parker Benello (she/her) is the Founder of Secret Sauce Media, her latest venture to produce and invest in surprising and timeless film projects. She co-founded Chicken & Egg Pictures in 2005 with a shared belief that diverse women and gender expansive nonfiction storytellers have the power to catalyze change at home and around the globe. She produced Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s Academy Award®, Gotham, and Independent Spirit-winning feature documentary American Factory as well as Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk’s Emmy® Award-winning USA Gymnastics documentary, Athlete A, both streaming on Netflix.

Most recently, she executive produced Lana Wilson’s latest film Look Into My Eyes about psychic mediums and their clients which premiered at Sundance 2024 and was picked up by A24. She served as a producer on longtime collaborator Judith Helfand’s feature documentary Love & Stuff, which broadcast on POV in 2022, and Sarah Jones’ feature debut Sell Buy Date (SXSW 2022, Cinedigm). Earlier in her career, she co-produced Blue Vinyl, served as a Production Executive for Non Fiction Films, and was an archival researcher for the Discovery Channel series Cronkite Remembers. Julie lives in San Francisco, is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Documentary Branch and the Producers Guild of America.