Meet the Founder
Lily Zalewski is the founder of Open Door Leaders LLC, a leadership development practice dedicated to developing authentic and human leadership through transformative learning experiences and personalized coaching. With over 10 years of experience in Learning & Development, Lily has helped leaders across industries make the impact they're aiming for through her human-first approach to leadership.
Lily holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and French from Augustana College and an MBA in Human Resources Management from Michigan State University, where she was recognized as a 2022 MBA to Watch by Poets and Quants. She also has maintained SHRM-CP certification since 2018. Her corporate experience includes specialist and generalist roles, where she focused on change management, leader consultations, and designing transformative learning programs.
Lily founded Open Door Leaders in 2025 to help emerging leaders and organizations develop authentic leadership skills rooted in curiosity, empathy, and transparency. Through her signature programs and personalized coaching, she creates spaces where leaders can be messy, vulnerable, and genuine while building the skills needed to uplift themselves and others.