Entrepreneur, philanthropist and home design expert Lily Kanter will be the featured speaker at Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City’s 2025 Women of Strength event.
The event will be on Monday, Oct. 20, with Ora Reynolds serving as the honorary chair. Registration will open in September.
Kanter, a native Kansas Citian, established the successful home furnishing company Serena & Lily, known for coastal inspired, “breezy California style” home décor, alongside Serena Dugan. She has also cofounded and served as the CEO of Boon Supply and Mill Valley Baby & Kids Home.
Though Kanter’s career in the home design industry continues to be widely successful, her story did not start with home design. Before starting a family, Kanter worked in accounting and technology, holding high-level positions at Microsoft and Deloitte. She was awarded the Frontier awards from Bill Gates after work on Microsoft’s first retail presence in San Francisco, California.
In 2002, she was featured on the cover of Time Magazine alongside other influential individuals for the story “The New Philanthropists” for her work sponsoring and mentoring disadvantaged young adults into technology careers.
Kanter is known for her support of Jewish and Israeli organizations, with a focus on grassroots movements that provide direct aid and support on-the-ground. Along with her husband, Marc Sarosi, she founded the Sarosi-Kanter Charitable Foundation.
In 2018, Kanter opened Boon Supply. Through the sale of more than 200 products, including reusable totes and sustainable kitchen tools, Boon Supply merged Kanter’s love of giving back with her eye for design and product. Donating 40-to-50% of its proceeds, the venture gave $102 million to schools and educational organizations.
Most recently, Kanter founded Averylily, a design studio focusing on supporting female artists and creators from across the globe, and Empower Her, and investing collective impacting female-led ventures.
About her upbringing in Kansas City, Kanter told the Jewish United Fund in Chicago, “Both of my parents devoted their lives to helping other people. My father was a physician and ran the Kansas City public health department, and my mother taught public school in a very disadvantaged area of the city. They were very much about opening the doors to others, including Soviet Jews. My father instilled in me a very serious dedication to the continuity of the Jewish community.”
Kanter attended Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy through 4th grade. She graduated from Center High School in Kansas City, Missouri, and currently serves on the board of the Bay Area Jewish Federation.
