Shasta Nelson

Shasta Nelson is a keynote speaker, author, and leading expert on friendship and healthy relationships at work. She is the founder of GirlFriendCircles.com, a community aimed at fostering friendships among women. Nelson regularly conducts friendship skill-building classes at The Friendship University.

Filled with scientific data, real-world research, and fascinating case studies, Nelson’s programs reveal how healthy relationships at work directly impact employee engagement, team culture, sales, recruiting, and retention. She also teaches strategies for the healthiest friendships, contributing to individual happiness and well-being. Her program "Relationships: The Health Factor More Important than Treadmills and Kale" teaches attendees about the science of loneliness and the benefits of relational health.

Frequently featured in the media as a popular resource on healthy relationships and the increasing epidemic of loneliness, Nelson has been interviewed live on several television shows including "Katie Couric’s Katie," "Fox Business," "The Early Show," "The Today Show," and "The Steve Harvey Show." She has also been featured in countless national magazines like "Good Housekeeping," "Real Simple," and "Health;" and interviewed for prominent newspapers like "The New York Times," "The Washington Post," and "The Los Angeles Times." Nelson delivered a TEDx talk titled "Frientimacy: The 3 Requirements of All Healthy Friendships" at TEDxLaSierraUniversity.

Nelson was selected by Facebook to be their media spokesperson and friendship expert for Friends Day 2018. Her books include "Frientimacy: How to Deepen Friendships for Lifelong Health and Happiness" and "Friendships Don’t Just Happen! The Guide to Creating a Meaningful Circle of GirlFriends." Her third book "The Business of Friendship: Making the Most of the Relationships Where We Spend Most of Our Time" was published by HarperCollins Leadership in the summer of 2020.

Her Three Relationship Requirements have been featured in her popular TEDx talk and are widely praised for helping break down relationships in ways everyone understands. She offers keynotes on topics such as increasing relational depth, the impact of workplace relationships on employee engagement, and the three essential requirements of healthy relationships.