President and Principal Consultant
Lesley Mallow Wendell brings more than 20 years of experience as an executive leader,
mentor and innovator in helping organizations and individuals achieve success.
Lesley Mallow Wendell is a recognized leadership development expert and executive coach. 
She founded Rosewood Consulting Group in 2001 to help organizations and leaders create strategies for success. Lesley provides executive coaching, organizational effectiveness, and leadership development programs to a variety of organizations in the private and nonprofit sectors. Her work with entrepreneurs has increased their ability to motivate their teams and improve overall performance and productivity. Lesley tailors her approach to meet the multi-faceted needs of her clients. She provides 360 degree feedback and coaching to senior leaders in philanthropic organizations, and facilitates board development, leadership and strategic and scenario planning initiatives for organizations in both the for- and nonprofit sectors. Each engagement is designed specifically for the individual client.
Lesley uses a variety of approaches, techniques and assessment tools, including the DiSC Profiler, Myers Briggs Type Indicator®, CPI 260® and TKI® and the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI). She is currently enrolled in Marcia Reynolds’ Breakthrough Coaching Program to advance her coaching expertise, and recently completed training in the delivery of virtual facilitation rooted in principles of Appreciative Inquiry. In 2008, the Women Presidents’ Organization selected Lesley to chair one of its local chapters, where she facilitates a monthly roundtable for women entrepreneurs who lead multi-million dollar companies.
For many years, Lesley has practiced mindfulness. In 2019 she participated in the RISE Leadership Training at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, the nation’s leader in yoga and mindfulness education. She has also studied Reiki and attained certification as a Reiki Master Practitioner. Reiki is a Japanese meditative practice that promotes relaxation, reduces stress and anxiety, and promotes a positive mental state. Although Lesley does not maintain a Reiki practice per se, she has taught Reiki and brings its principles to her work as a coach and facilitator. This enables her to hold the space that empowers clients to focus on what is most important in order to move forward as a group or an individual.
In addition to her organizational work, she has developed and taught courses in Leadership, Writing for Business and Effective Negotiation at area colleges and universities. She co-authored When Leaders Leave: A New Perspective on Leadership Transition, which provides a roadmap for nonprofits to effectively manage leadership transitions. A frequently quoted leadership and career development expert in local and national business publications, Lesley has appeared on local and national radio and TV. In 2015, she authored a chapter on leadership transformation for Results! – Impactful Solutions to Drive Business, an anthology by Jean Oursler.
Prior to establishing Rosewood Consulting Group in 2001, Lesley served as chief executive of a Philadelphia-based career and human resource consulting organization. She held previous positions in advertising and academia. During eleven years as Director of Career Services at Widener University, Lesley chaired the university’s Committee on Multicultural Understanding and trained groups and individuals on issues related to diversity.
Lesley served as a director of the Forum of Executive Women, chaired its Mentoring Committee and currently creates Leadership Development Plans for winners of the Annual Forum Award. She chairs the Program Committee for Beacon, a Philadelphia-based networking group for senior executives. Elected to the board of Congregation Ohev Shalom in 2013, she currently chairs its Human Resources Committee as well as the Outreach Grants Committee which administers grants to children and families. In January, 2021, she was elected to the board of Child Guidance Resource Centers.
Lesley is a frequent keynote speaker to professional organizations on matters of leadership development. She was honored by Business Philadelphia as one its “Women to Watch” and by the Career Wardrobe during their “Story of a Suit” celebration. Lesley earned an M.S. in Human Resource Management from Widener University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.