Meet Chelesea

I’m Chelesea Lewellen, an executive, team and wellbeing coach, facilitator, educator, and scholar-practitioner. I partner with leaders and organizations to navigate complexity, strengthen relationships, and create meaningful, sustainable change. My work is grounded in the belief that leadership development is both a personal and collective process, shaped by the ways we understand ourselves, engage with others, and respond to the systems around us.

My professional journey spans federal leadership development, higher education, and organizational learning. As a former faculty member with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Executive Institute, I worked with senior federal leaders through executive coaching, team coaching, facilitation, and experiential learning. I partnered with intact leadership teams to examine decision-making, trust, accountability, and the dynamics that influence how people lead and work together in complex environments.

My experience in higher education includes teaching, research, academic advising, and student development. My scholarly interests center on African American women’s leadership experiences, identity, and resilience in predominantly White institutions, and these perspectives inform a reflective, evidence-informed approach to coaching and leadership development.

I hold the International Coaching Federation’s Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential and Advanced Certification in Team Coaching (ACTC), as well as the European Mentoring and Coaching Council’s EIA Senior Practitioner accreditation. I am also recognized as a Fellow of the Association for Coaching. These credentials reflect my commitment to ethical practice, continued professional development, and the integration of multiple perspectives in my work.

Through Chelesea LLC, I bring these experiences together through executive and team coaching, wellbeing and mindfulness coaching, facilitation, and leadership development. I am particularly interested in helping people, leaders, and teams create space for honest reflection, navigate uncertainty and transition, deepen self-awareness, and strengthen their capacity to move forward with clarity and purpose. Whether working with an individual, a leader, an intact team, or a broader organization, my approach is collaborative, curious, and grounded in respect for the people and systems involved.

Beyond my professional work, I value learning, meaningful connection, wellbeing, and the experiences that remind us there is more to life than our roles and accomplishments. My approach is also informed by more than 15 years of mindfulness and wellbeing practice and continued learning in this area. I bring that same appreciation for humanity into my work, recognizing that the people I partner with are whole individuals whose identities, relationships, aspirations, experiences, and wellbeing matter.