Leadership Development & Team Effectiveness
Coaching empowers leaders to gain deeper insights into their unique contributions to team effectiveness while building the skills and confidence needed to achieve their goals. This not only helps leaders elevate their own performance but also amplifies their impact—enhancing their team’s success and influencing the broader organization.
Stellar’s coaching framework is rooted in supporting the whole person, celebrating strengths, fostering a sense of authenticity, building confidence, and self-efficacy. Our approach is designed to empower leaders at all levels to enhance their effectiveness and drive organizational success. We meet each client where they are and help them grow in meaningful ways. At its heart, our coaching framework is about helping leaders unlock their potential and create a meaningful, lasting impact in their work and lives.
We work one-on-one with leaders to help them build skills, navigate challenges, and achieve their goals in a focused and confidential setting. Through inquiry, reflection, actionable strategies, and accountability, leaders gain clarity on their priorities, strengthen their leadership presence, and build the capacity to lead with greater confidence and impact.
Our Coaches
Wendy Carney
PHR, Prosci®, DEI, LPI, Principal
Wendy Carney is a certified executive and leadership coach and seasoned human resources leader with more than 28 years of experience across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. A PHR-certified Human Resource practitioner, iPEC-certified executive leadership coach, LPI 360–certified coach partner, and advanced Prosci® change management expert, she brings deep expertise in human resource operations, leadership development, organizational change, and people strategy.
With 20 years of experience designing and delivering tailored leadership and change programs. Wendy blends instructional design expertise with practical business insight to create learning experiences that are relevant, applied, and sustainable.
She integrates multiple change methodologies- including Prosci® and five additional change frameworks- to help leaders and organizations successfully assess, plan, lead, improve, and sustain business transformation.
Wendy has held human resources and diversity leadership roles in private, federal, and across Washington State agencies and has provided more than two decades of organizational change and development consulting to public, private and federal sector clients.
Recognized for her positive, engaging style and her ability to build trust-based partnerships, she helps executives, leaders, and teams strengthen leadership capability, elevate performance, and foster cultures of accountability, inclusion, and growth.
Through certified coaching techniques and customized development strategies, Wendy supports leaders to align purpose with action, lead through change with confidence, and achieve measurable organizational outcomes.
Jennifer Vachon
MA, PCC, Prosci®, Principal
Jennifer (Jen) Vachon is an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with more than 20 years of experience in leadership, team, and organizational development.
She is an executive leadership coach, organizational consultant, and facilitator who works with senior leaders and leadership teams navigating complexity, change, and growth. Jen has delivered over 2,000 coaching sessions to leaders across industries, including the public sector, higher education, healthcare, and technology.
She brings strength in supporting executives operating in complex, multi-stakeholder environments where alignment, trust, and clear decision-making are critical.
With 18+ years of public sector consulting experience, Jen partners with executive leaders and organizations to strengthen leadership capacity, align teams, and lead through high stakes transitions. Her work includes executive and leadership coaching, leadership development, team alignment, group facilitation, and strategic planning.
Jen is known for creating thoughtful, engaging environments that build trust, encourage open dialogue, and support meaningful alignment across diverse stakeholder groups. Her facilitation approach blends behavioral science with practical structure to help groups clarify priorities, strengthen relationships, and translate shared understanding into coordinated action.
Jen’s approach is strengths-based, practical, and human-centered focused on helping leaders elevate their presence, navigate complex dynamics, and make confident, value-aligned decisions. She believes that investing in people, trust, and culture is essential for sustained organizational success.
April Potts
MBA, PMP, Prosci®, Lean, Principal
With over 30 years of experience supporting state government, April Potts is a seasoned leadership development professional, facilitator, and coach dedicated to helping leaders and teams perform at their best.
April brings a strategic yet people-centered approach to coaching and facilitation. She specializes in creating high-impact engagements that strengthen communication, collaboration, and accountability, enabling organizations to achieve meaningful and sustainable results.
She partners closely with leaders to identify challenges, align priorities, and cultivate the skills and mindsets necessary for effective leadership in complex environments. Her work emphasizes building trust, fostering open dialogue, and developing leaders’ capacity to inspire, influence, and lead with intention.
Throughout her career, April has been recognized for her authentic, inclusive style and her ability to create psychologically safe environments where individuals feel empowered to contribute and grow. She leverages a blend of facilitation, coaching, and assessment tools to help teams identify strengths, uncover barriers, and build the collective capacity to achieve common goals.
Grounded in a belief that leadership is both a mindset and a skill set, April is passionate about equipping leaders to lead with purpose, adapt to change, and cultivate resilient, high-performing teams. She holds a master’s degree in business, focusing on Change leadership. Her certifications include project management, Prosci and change management, lean/six sigma, Big 5 Strategy, Culture Coaching, and North Star Coaching.
Candria Rauser
MA, PMP, Prosci®, Lean, Senior Consultant
Candria Rauser is a Senior Consultant with the Stellar team with over 25 years of experience as a project manager, facilitator, coach, and leader. She is passionate about helping individuals and teams realize their full potential through collaborative learning, effective facilitation, and intentional change leadership.
Candria specializes in coaching, facilitation, and training, creating engaging, trust-based environments where teams can build alignment, strengthen relationships, and navigate change with confidence. She is known for her ability to foster open dialogue, surface diverse perspectives, and guide groups toward shared understanding and actionable outcomes. Her approach emphasizes continuous learning, collaboration, and the power of strong connections to drive meaningful and lasting change.
Throughout her career, Candria has worked across multiple state agencies, partnering with cross-functional teams, leaders, and stakeholders to support large-scale initiatives and organizational transitions. Her experience spans a wide range of collaborative efforts, where she has played key roles as a project director and manager, facilitator, change leader, coach, and team member helping groups adapt, grow, and succeed together.
She holds multiple coaching certifications, including John Maxwell Leadership, Clifton Strengths, Everything DiSC, 5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, and Purpose Factor, and integrates these frameworks into her work to support individual growth, strengthen team dynamics, build high-performing, and aligned organizations.