Current Roles
Executive Director, Karmê Chöling
Executive & Leadership Coach
Meditation Instructor
Master of Divinity Candidate, Naropa University
Expertise
Business Strategy & Growth
Operations & Financial Management
Executive Leadership & Coaching
Organizational Development
Branding & Marketing
Foundations
Buddhist & Contemplative Practice
Psychology & Human Development
Spiritual Care & Ethics
Lena DiGenti
I’ve worn many hats throughout my life: teacher, entrepreneur, executive, consultant, foster parent, caregiver, coach, and contemplative practitioner. Each has shaped how I understand people, organizations, and the responsibilities we have to one another.
For more than 25 years, I’ve built and led businesses, managed organizations, and worked with leaders across industries, from entrepreneurs and small business owners to nonprofit organizations and Fortune 20 companies.
My experience spans nearly every aspect of running a business, including strategy, finance, operations, branding, marketing, organizational development, and leadership. I’ve built teams, managed budgets, navigated difficult transitions, and made the decisions that come with being responsible for an organization’s success. I know the practical realities of running a business because I’ve lived them.
Alongside my professional life, contemplative practice has been a constant. I grew up within the Shambhala Buddhist tradition and have practiced meditation since childhood. For more than twenty years, I’ve also taught meditation, working with beginners and experienced practitioners in a variety of settings.
Buddhist philosophy, contemplative practice, and my studies in psychology have shaped how I approach leadership and organizational life. I’ve always been interested in the relationship between how we understand ourselves, how we treat one another, and the organizations and communities we create.
Where My Work Has Led Me
Today, I serve as Executive Director of Karmê Chöling, a Buddhist meditation retreat center in Vermont with deep roots in the Karma Kagyu and Shambhala traditions.
It’s a role that draws on nearly every part of my experience. Running a retreat center requires financial discipline, operational planning, effective communication, fundraising, marketing, and thoughtful leadership. It also means caring for a community, stewarding a place of spiritual significance, and making decisions that honor both the organization’s mission and its practical needs.
Living and working here has also deepened my connection with the natural world. The forests, river, mountains, and changing seasons are part of my everyday life and practice. I’m increasingly interested in what we can learn from the land and how our relationship with the natural world informs the way we live, lead, and care for our communities.
Continuing to Learn
Education and inquiry have always been important parts of my life.
I hold a bachelor’s degree in education and mathematics, a master’s degree in psychology, and certifications in ontological coaching and authentic leadership. I’m also a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation and a trained yoga instructor.
I’m currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Naropa University, where my studies bring together Buddhist philosophy, contemplative traditions, ethics, and spiritual care. I’m also completing clinical pastoral education, expanding my experience accompanying people through grief, change, and other challenging circumstances.
My interests continue to evolve around the intersections of Buddhism, leadership, community, justice, and our relationship with the natural world. I’m particularly interested in how contemplative traditions can inform ethical leadership, organizational culture, and the ways communities respond to conflict and harm.
What Matters to Me
My life has included many different kinds of responsibility, from building businesses and leading organizations to raising children and caring for family members through illness and the end of life.
These experiences have shaped my understanding of leadership as much as any professional training or academic study. They’ve taught me about the limits of our control, the complexity of human relationships, and the importance of remaining curious about ourselves and the world around us.
I believe organizations need strong financial management, sound strategy, effective operations, and people who are willing to make difficult decisions. I also believe that how we make those decisions matters, and that successful organizations can contribute to the well-being of the communities and environments they are part of.
I continue to bring together business experience, contemplative practice, education, and a willingness to keep learning in everything I do.
And I’m still interested in the same questions that have guided much of my life: How do we live well together? What does it mean to lead responsibly? And how can the work we do contribute something meaningful to the world?