Friendship Journeys: Shasta Nelson's Global Adventures

Aaron and Charlotte recorded this one early, since Charlotte's about to be off the grid and overseas. She's heading out to host a Women Who Explore trek on the Tour du Mont Blanc, hiking the circuit around Mont Blanc through France, Italy, and Switzerland with a group of women she's never met. There's a guide on the ground handling the trails, which leaves Charlotte in charge of what she calls the vibes: making sure everyone bonds, feels looked after, and comes home with the kind of friendships that outlast the trip.This week’s guest is Shasta Nelson, the Chamber of Connection’s Chief Friendship Officer and the author of Frientimacy and The Business of Friendship. Shasta traces her path from a childhood shaped by her parents' divorce to a first career as a pastor building community to launching one of the first friendship-matching sites, all of it feeding her work on what makes people bond. Since 2013 she's hosted 20 international trips, starting with a begrudging group trip to Cuba that drew 200 responses and turned her into a self-described scientist in the friendship lab. She shares the recipe she's refined over a decade: ground rules like you don't have to be friends with everyone, but you do have to be friendly; two prep calls before anyone boards a plane; and an owner's manual prompt where each traveler names the one thing that'd help the group support them better. 00:00 Introducing Shasta Nelson, Chief Friendship Officer04:09 Welcome Shasta05:20 Origin Story: From Divorce to Friendship Expert07:23 Charlotte's Trip Details08:57 How Shasta's Group Trips Began14:06 Managing Group Dynamics16:26 Lasting Bonds, Repeat Travelers and Reunions19:17 Gender Dynamics in Group Travel26:03 Planning Trips: Strangers vs. Friends28:42 Why Group Travel Builds Deeper Connections31:35 Aaron's Dream Trip: Biking Italy---How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.Connect with Uswww.chamberofconnection.orgShasta Nelsonwww.shastanelson.comShasta is a keynote speaker, one of the country's leading experts on friendship and belonging, and the Chamber's Chief Friendship Officer. A former pastor with a Master of Divinity, she launched GirlFriendCircles in 2008 as one of the first friendship matching platforms in the US, and she's since studied more than 10,000 friendships through surveys, interviews, and lived experience. She's the author of three books, including Frientimacy and The Business of Friendship, and her framework of positivity, consistency, and vulnerability has reached millions through two TEDx talks. Her work has shaped connection at companies like Google and LinkedIn and been featured from Harvard Business Review to The New York Times. Each year she also hosts international friendship trips around the world.Heylowww.heylo.comHeylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.