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Shasta Nelson
Friendship Expert, Keynote Speaker & Author
For over 15 years, Shasta Nelson has been translating the science of human connection into actionable practices that lead to greater belonging in communities and workplaces. Her expertise activates organizations to intentionally create and accelerate high-trust and resilient relationships that lead to higher employee retention, engagement, and collaboration.
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Shasta Nelson is a friendship expert, keynote speaker, and the author of three books on the science of friendship (with a fourth arriving in 2027) who helps organizations build the workplace connection and belonging that drive trust, retention, and performance.
Shasta has spent 15 years researching what makes relationships thrive — as Chief Friendship Officer of the U.S. Chamber of Connection, author of three books on relationships and belonging (with a fourth arriving in 2027), a two-time TEDx speaker with nearly 1 million views, and a speaker with 500+ keynotes. For the past six years, she's used a diagnostic tool with organizations to actually measure relationship health — not intuition, data.
Her research has identified three behaviors that bond any two people — positivity, consistency, and vulnerability — and she translates the science behind them into frameworks that determine whether teams trust each other, cultures thrive, and conferences create real connection.
Organizations invite Shasta to speak when they want to:
- Accelerate trust on teams so leaders collaborate faster and navigate change with resilience
- Strengthen culture, engagement, and retention
- Equip leaders and employees with practical relationship skills that improve belonging and performance
- Transform conferences from passive events into connection experiences
Her clients include global companies, healthcare systems, associations, and leadership teams working to strengthen trust and culture.
Because it’s time to trust the data: when relationships get stronger, everything else works better.
Keynotes
Featured Keynote
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The Science of Friendship at Work: Accelerating High-Trust, Resilient, and Rewarding Relationships
Did you know that employees with meaningful relationships at work are seven times more likely to be engaged in their jobs, take fewer sick days, collaborate more effectively, provide better customer service, and stay longer with their companies? A sense of belonging is the #1 factor in employee satisfaction — and building it is one of the most effective levers for reducing turnover and increasing fulfillment.
In this dynamic, interactive keynote, friendship expert and author Shasta Nelson teaches the Science of Friendship at Work — translating her signature framework, the 3 Requirements of Relationships, into a practical lens for evaluating and strengthening connection within your teams.
Perfect for leaders & organizations who want to:
- Increase employee retention, engagement, and collaboration
- ?Equip employees with skills that improve well-being and fulfillment at work and at home
- Build a genuine culture of belonging
Audiences will leave with:
- The latest research on how meaningful workplace relationships drive engagement and retention
- The 3 Requirements of every healthy relationship — and how they build a culture of belonging
- A framework to evaluate connection within their own teams and pinpoint where to focus for maximum impact
- Concrete strategies to implement the 3 Requirements and build high-trust, resilient relationships at work
Shasta’s most requested topics are usually delivered in 45-90 minutes, but can also be presented in half and full-day programs.
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