Nearly 30 years ago Louise Carnachan first came to Orcas Island to attend a University of Washington staff retreat at Deer Harbor. Now, with years of experience in business consultation and retreat planning, Carnachan is an island resident and businesswoman whose mission is to attract organizations such as the UW and large businesses to Orcas Island for retreats and seminars.

Trained as a social worker, Carnachan’s Master’s thesis focused on stress in the workplace. She has worked as a private consultant for 21 years, teaming with a partner for the first seven years, and specializing in team communication. Her clients have included major hospitals and corporations in the Pacific Northwest.

Her work focuses on three areas: training, where she works with clients on management and teambuilding; retreat planning for projects such as teambuilding or strategic planning; and facilitating group processes, such as retreats.

Carnachan moved permanently to Orcas Island last summer, and although she had her best year ever in 2007, “by December I decided to not try to recreate my work in Seattle.” Instead she took a break from January to March, and to enforce that break, she signed on for a role in the Actors Theater production of “Lend Me a Tenor.”

Now she is focused on “re-inventing my business.” Her short term goals are to bring people to the island for training and retreats, particularly during the “shoulder” or “off-seasons.” Long term, Carnachan wants to establish leadership retreats that “are rigorous and so well-known that people are dying to get in.”

She feels that organizations on the mainland, particularly in Whatcom and Skagit counties, would welcome the opportunities to caucus on Orcas Island. “There are such a beautiful variety of retreats sites on the island, for both private and public events,” says Carnachan. While she admits that her field is one of the first to get cut in a recession, she says, “This is the third recession I’ve gone through in my business and it does turn around, but you’ve got to be ready for it.”

“The good news may be that if people can’t afford to go far away, they still can come here.” And Canadians now may get a better value for their their dollars, Carnachan adds.

She presented the first “Business Essentials” talk on “Dealing with Difficult People,” at a Orcas Chamber of Commerce meeting in March.

Her next presentation is an all-day seminar at Camp Orkila on May 9, “Coaching for Peak Performance.” The seminar will focus on practical applications to help managers guide workers who are performing at “lagging or acceptable levels, to dramatically improve their performance.”

Speaking to managers and employers, Carnachan says, “ If you want [your employees] to be innovative and take risks – thinking for oneself, or considering the best thing for the customer — then you’ve got to be there for them when they take a risk that doesn’t work as planned.”

Carnachan emphasized that larger groups benefit from such seminars.“You learn so much from talking to your peers. It’s what happens when you leave that’s important, and having that support from each other can be so helpful.”

Many of the lessons Carnachan teaches are central to her enjoyment and success in the theater, where she has been an improvisational artist, an actress, a playwright and a director. She says that improv’s ultimate goal is to help fellow performers, and make them look good. “It’s creating something together and I just love that. If you’ve ever worked successfully with a team, you’ll know what that feels like and you’ll try to find it again.”

Carnachan is offering scholarships to Orcas Islanders for the May 9 seminar, “Coaching for Peak Performance.” The deadline for registration is May 1 at noon.

Carnachan may be reached through www.carnachan.com.