Whidbey Island Retreat

for Women Exploring Change

Uninterrupted time to design your next chapter.

Coupeville, Washington
November 18 - 22, 2026

Scholarship Applications Are Open

Both a Social Good (50% of retreat investment) and a Financial Assistance (sliding scale) scholarship are available.

Interior view of a cozy cabin living room with wooden log walls, large windows, a sofa, a daybed with striped pillows, and various framed photos on the wall.

Your time is now.

You're ready to explore your next chapter—in life, in business, or both. To do this you need uninterrupted time and space to actually hear yourself think.

Now exhale. Choose yourself without guilt. Without pressure. Without performance. It's time to listen to what's calling you and design what's next.

Perhaps you’ve been last on your own list for years. Every plan postponed, every "someday" pushed behind someone else's deadline. Your ideas have been sitting on a shelf, and leaving them there has been weighing on you. Both end here.

Give yourself five days of uninterrupted time: to get curious, to imagine freely, to feel the excitement of possibilities that are fully your own.

An island in the Sound. An intentionally small group of women, each designing her own way forward. Jennifer Trezza, Salt+Grit’s Lead Strategist and Founder, holds the structure while you let go of doubt, judgement, and outside noise.

The freedom to explore on your own terms starts with saying yes. This retreat is where your next chapter begins.

Secure my spot
A group of women enjoying a toast with champagne at an outdoor dinner gathering surrounded by trees and warm fall-colored leaves.
A group of women enjoying a toast with champagne at an outdoor dinner gathering surrounded by trees and warm fall-colored leaves.

Who this is for.

The Whidbey Island Retreat is for women who are ready to design their next chapter and need real time and space to do it. Maybe this next chapter follows a major life change, or maybe it's a shift in priorities in the business you're leading. Whether this next chapter is marked by a milestone, initiative, or has arrived quietly, you know you need to give it the time, focussed attention, and strategic support it deserves..

Our Whidbey Island Retreat is for women shaping what comes next, in life, business, or both. Women who need real time and space to effectively reflect, discover, explore, and design this next chapter.

Incredible women. A historic lodge and private accommodations at the water's edge. This is where you rediscover your brave, take a deep look at the experiences that influenced where you are today, discover insights not realized before, and explore how it will shape what’s next. This process is what real strategy looks like. It’s not a typical ‘plan’ based on an assumed ‘right’ outcome. Strategy reveals evidence-based insights that more honestly shape direction.

Outdoor dining area on a wooden deck with string lights, tables, and chairs, overlooking a body of water with trees around, during evening.

What to expect.

You’re giving yourself permission to focus solely on you. There are no obligations to make decisions, and no one expecting answers from you. No chores, errands, or meal planning.

By the first afternoon, you notice the noise has dropped. The water is soothing, the breeze and trees are calming. Every logistic is handled for you. As your nervous system settles, something better than calm arrives: energy, curiosity, and excitement. Thoughts you set aside so long ago you forgot about them are suddenly back, waiting for exploration.

The Salt+Grit experience.

You can't explore your next chapter while you're busy managing the one you’re in. That's the intention behind Whidbey. Slow, peaceful mornings. You’ll be guided through our framework, which is paired with experiential workshops and discussions—you’re welcome to share as little or as much as you’d like with the group.

Together we follow a methodical arc to:

  • reflect on past experiences to better understand where you are today

  • discover insights on what really needs to be solved

  • explore unconventional solutions

  • design your next chapter

Assumptions, habits, and patterns are challenged. This helps us get to the root of what is holding you back. We dissolve preconceived barriers, dismantle fears, and make our own rules for designing unconventional futures.

The pace is steady, allowing Jennifer ample time for check-ins with each individual.

You’ll depart with the foundation for your roadmap and continued coaching support to bring it to life. Your next chapter already exists within you, all it needs is uninterrupted time and clarity to reach it.

The absolutely wonderful part? This doesn’t feel like work! It’s honest conversations with yourself about where you are and where you want to go, testing options with zero pressure to commit, then turning the direction you choose into an iterative map. Our job is to hold the process so that you can enjoy the exploration and discoveries waiting for you.

Submit Interest Form

Set on the Puget Sound with views of the Olympic and North Cascades Mountain Ranges, Mt. Baker, and Mt. Rainer.

The retreat at a glance.

The shift starts the moment you commit, weeks before you step off the ferry onto the Island. Once these dates are on your calendar, part of your mind gets to stop managing and start imagining. You're ready now—and readiness deserves a start date. Every season you wait, the ideas stay on the shelf and the chapter stays unwritten. Four nights on Whidbey Island changes that. Uninterrupted time to think, explore, and begin designing your next chapter. Three months of post-retreat continued group coaching to maintain momentum and accountability.

Transformation and return home.

Imagine… you were finally able to hear your own thoughts and follow where they led. The most creative ideas surfaced in you, including unconventional ones, the ones you'd never access between the noise in an average day at home.

This uninterrupted time and immersive ideation gave you renewed excitement for what’s ahead. It helped shape your ideas around what is truly possible and the direction that matches who you are today. When you return home, you carry with you the clarity, excitement, and brave to implement the next steps in your designed life. You next chapter is waiting, and you have the continued support of three months of group coaching to help realize your vision.

Your Retreat Team

Your retreat experience is led by Jennifer Trezza, Salt+Grit’s Lead Strategist and Founder. Jennifer has dedicated the past six years of her career to supporting social good initiatives—namely immigration, child welfare, and rural health. She began her work as a strategist 20 years ago, and has since earned a Master of Science in Strategic Design and Global Leadership from The New School, Parsons School of Design, and holds recent certifications in Outsmarting Implicit Bias from Harvard University and Leader as Coach from Brown University. The entire Salt+Grit team is highly credentialed and leads with a steady, empathetic approach in service of our global community.

Jennifer Trezza
Salt+Grit Founder
+ Lead Strategist

A woman in a pink dress playing crystal singing bowls on the beach near the ocean during sunset.

Aaron Maxwell
Nervous System Healer
+ Retreat Concierge

Kiersta Sze
Retreat
Photographer

A perfect location for real exploration.

The quaint town of Coupeville, Washington, is a dream. Our small group will immerse in engaging strategy discussions, enjoy private accommodations, private studio space with sauna, sound baths, walk/hike at Ebey’s Landing, and private beach and dock access.

A sneak peek at your itinerary!

November 20
Ebey’s Landing State Park
Picnic Lunch
Discussion + Workshop

November 21
Sound Bath, Sauna
Lunch in Coupeville
Discussion + Workshop

Two children lie on their stomachs in a hammock tied between trees overlooking a pond, surrounded by lush trees and a peaceful outdoor setting.
Map of Whidbey Island with illustrations of key sites such as Fort Ebey, Coupeville, Port Townsend Ferry, Fort Casey, Double Bluff Beach, Clinton, Oak Harbor, and others, including parks and public spaces, towns, and cities.

November 19
Sound Bath, Sauna
Relax + Regulate
Light Discussion

November 18
Welcome Reception
Settle-in and Unwind

November 22
Farewell Breakfast
Depart
(followed by three months of virtual group coaching)

Private Accommodations

A collage of three images: the first is a cozy bar with a wooden counter and green tiled front, with bar stools and hanging glassware; the second is a rustic two-story wooden cabin with weathered wood siding and small-green window frames; the third is an interior shot of a log cabin living room with a green sofa, dark pillows, a window, and wood-paneled walls.
Living room with black walls, nautical themed art and models, books, pink flowers, candles, and leather chairs.

You’ll enjoy private access to the historic lodge accommodations at The Captain Whidbey. Our retreat guests have sole access to the upstairs rooms, cozy nooks, and amenities.

Private Cabin
(water view)

A tiny house with open double doors, revealing a bed inside and surrounded by greenery, with buoys hanging outside.

Lodge King Suite
(water view)

Cozy living room with wooden log walls, a black sofa with a plaid blanket, and a large window letting in natural light.

Lodge Queen
(water or garden view)

A bedroom with wood-paneled walls featuring a framed landscape painting and a window. There are shelves with rolled white towels, a bedside table with a potted plant, a lantern, and a bed with white pillows and a dark blanket.
Secure My Spot.

Investment Opportunities + Scholarships

Program & Accommodations (all single occupancy)

Private Cabin………………………..$9,200 (only 2 left!)

Lodge King Suite………………….$7,800 (only 1 left!)

Lodge Queen………..……….…….$6,800

Both a Social Good (50% of retreat investment) and a Financial Assistance (sliding scale) scholarship are available.

Each private cabin has a living area, kitchenette, and full bath. Each lodge room has an en-suite sink; there are two large shared bathrooms on same floor and central to each private room. For photos of the historic lodge amenities, please visit Captain Whidbey.

Included

- Professional strategy workshops
- Group discussions and guided support
- Afternoon at Ebey’s Landing
- On-site sound baths + sauna
- Private accommodations
(Salt+Grit secured a buyout of the historic lodge rooms and upstairs common areas)
- Four breakfasts, two lunches, four dinners
- Three post-retreat virtual group coaching sessions
- On-site Parking

Not Included

- One lunch during free time in Coupeville
- Travel, medical, and trip Insurance
- Items of a personal nature
- Transportation to and from retreat venue.

Questions you might have.

  • Our Founder, Jennifer, leads all discussions with empathy, meeting guests where they are on their personal and professional paths. As a trained strategist and certified leadership coach, she utilizes a breadth of tools. Her approach is rooted in human-centered design, and she creates engaging interactive sessions. Jennifer grounds conversations in thought provoking questions, helping women to identify and dismantle underlying barriers, and design paths forward that reflect who they are today.

  • Natural environments are scientifically proven to regulate nervous systems, reduce cortisol levels, increase creativity, and increase tolerance for uncertainty. Whidbey Island is an ideal immersive setting to focus on change and to design a personal roadmap. You’ll be surrounded by the Puget Sound, views of mountain ranges, a breathtaking bluff, tall trees hugging private waterfront access. All while enjoying lovely boutique accommodations with a full team to take care of you.

  • Yes. Our retreat location is reachable without a car.

    From the Seattle area, the most direct route is the Mukilteo to Clinton ferry, a short crossing that lands you on the south end of the island. From there, taxis, rideshare, and a few local shuttle services can take you the rest of the way to Coupeville.

    If you are coming from the north, the Port Townsend to Coupeville ferry lands you even closer to the lodge.

    If you would like help coordinating your route, reach out and we are happy to point you in the right direction.

  • - Lightly guided group discussions
    - An afternoon at Ebey’s Landing
    - On-site private sound baths, sauna, and water access
    - Opportunities to explore Coupeville, Port Townsend and Deception Pass on free time (or by extending your trip!)

  • Yes. Prior to the start of the retreat, all registered attendees will be added to a WhatsApp group chat! This is a great way to get to know one another in advance and also coordinate ride shares if that is of interest to you.

  • While the retreat itself is designed to give you everything you need, the island around you is worth a little exploration if your schedule allows.

    Coupeville is about 2.5 miles away, close enough for a short drive or ride into town to wander its adorable small shops, galleries, and cafes. It also has an amazing restaurant scene.

    Langley, a little further south, has a quieter, art-filled downtown and water views worth the drive.

    Deception Pass, with its dramatic bridge and coastal trails, is one of the most photographed spots in the state.

    And if you have extra time before or after the retreat, a ferry ride to Port Townsend offers a full day of Victorian architecture, waterfront shops, and its own island charm.

  • Investment structure options:
    - OPT 1: Pay-in-full and save 5% when you reserve your spot!
    - OPT 2: A non-refundable deposit of $500 will hold your spot and preferred room selection. Your balance will be divided evenly across the months from your sign up date through February 2027, which is the month of the third group coaching session. The payments will be made on the 1st day of each month.
    - OPT 3: Alternative plan just for you!
    Please reach out directly and we can design a plan that works for you. Our immersive retreat experience is designed to support you holistically. Let’s find a way for you to join us!

  • Cancellation Policy:

    • 61+ days prior to retreat start date: 100% refundable

    • 31 - 60 days prior to retreat start date:
      50% of total retreat reservation

    • 0 - 30 days prior to retreat start date:
      0% refundable

    • The deposit is non-refundable

Reservations

Site photos courtesy of The Captain Whidbey.

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