3 in 10
Nearly three in ten new hospital hires leave within their first year. Replacing one staff nurse costs about $60,000.
NSI Nursing Solutions, National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report (2026)
Keynote speaker · Social capital and belonging
Bonuses get
people in the door.
Social capital
keeps them.
Mike Chahinian shows hospitals, employers and governments how to build social capital on purpose: the ties within teams and across them that keep people in their jobs and good at them. He brings the research, a Navy veteran's story of arriving in a new city knowing no one, and what he has learned building Krew Social with Tampa General Hospital.
Watch Mike. Speaker reel coming soon. A short reel of Mike on stage will live here. Check back, or use Book Mike to request a talk.
Bonding ties, within a team
Bridging ties, across teams
Why it matters
Social capital is an operating asset, not a perk.
Half
Hospital employees in the work units with the most social capital had about half the odds of long-term sick leave, in a study of 32,053 staff.
Török et al., Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2018)
38%
Patients of primary care teams where everyone talks with everyone spent 38% fewer days in the hospital.
Mundt et al., Annals of Family Medicine (2015)
Keynotes, workshops and fireside chats
Two talks, each built for the room.
One for organizations, on social capital. One for individuals, on loneliness and belonging. Both end with steps to take the following Monday.
Hospitals, health systems and employers
Why People Stay
Social capital by design. Recruiting, bonuses and orientation get people in the door; relationships keep them. Bonding ties hold a team together, bridging ties connect departments, and both can be built on purpose through small, recurring, in-person gatherings.
- What social capital does for retention, staff health and patient care
- Why small recurring groups outperform big events
- Turning employees into organizers, and measuring bonding and bridging
Veterans, first responders, congregations and community groups
From Ship to Shore
Loneliness and belonging after service and through every move. Mike draws on leaving the Navy and arriving in a new city knowing no one to show what helps people rebuild a community, and what doesn't.
- Why transitions are the riskiest time for isolation
- Peer connection that people actually show up for
- Why a spouse is not enough, and how many hours a friendship takes
Keynote · 45-60 min
Workshop · 90 min
Leadership briefing · 30 min
Fireside chat · 30-45 min
Panel discussion
In person or virtual
The work behind the talks
Built and tested inside a major hospital.
Mike is the founder and CEO of Krew Social, the retention platform built on connection. It shows people real hangouts near them and who at each one they have the most in common with, and gives leaders a dashboard of bonding and bridging across the organization.
In October 2025, Tampa General Hospital selected Krew Social to help team members build social capital and reduce loneliness and burnout, and TGH Ventures invested in the company. The news was picked up nationally, including by Yahoo Finance and Morningstar.
His talks draw on what that work has shown about who shows up, who organizes, and how ties form within and across departments. Krew hangouts connect people across departments.
1,400+
successful in-person hangouts
70%
Krew members organize 70% of successful hangouts.
10X
staff adoption vs. a leading wellness app
40%
week-4 retention (wellness apps keep 3% at day 30)
Krew holds a 4.9-star App Store rating and a Net Promoter Score of 69.
- 1,400+, 70%, and 40%: Krew Social platform data
- 10X: Krew Social platform data vs. published wellness-app adoption benchmarks
- 40% comparison: Baumel et al., 2019, Journal of Medical Internet Research, https://doi.org/10.2196/14567
- 4.9-star rating and NPS 69: App Store; NICE Satmetrix, U.S. Consumer 2020 (NPS 69 is 18 points higher than iPhone in that benchmark)
About Mike
A builder who had to find his people the hard way.
Mike drove Navy destroyers, then left for business school and arrived in New York months before classes began, knowing no one. He found that making friends as an adult is one of the hardest ordinary things a person can do, and that the tools on offer did not help: a big meetup put fifty people in a room without telling anyone who to talk to. He built Krew Social so people can find small groups with a lot in common, doing what they love together, often. Today he works with hospitals, researchers and veterans organizations on the same problem at a much larger scale.
He lives in Tampa, Florida, and is available to speak nationwide, in person or virtually.
- U.S. Navy veteran
- Cornell University, BA
- Former Citigroup investment banker
- Boren Scholar; 2012 Howard Baker Jr. Award
- Founder and CEO, Krew Social
- NYU Stern School of Business, MBA
- First Commercial Engagement Executive, Defense Innovation Unit
- 2026 Tampa Bay Chamber Startup of the Year (press release)
What audiences say
Testimonials coming soon.
Mike is gathering first quotes from people who have heard these talks. This section will hold short, named comments with the person's name, role, and organization.
Who it's for
Rooms where belonging is on the agenda.
Hospital and health-system leadership retreats
HR and talent conferences
Nursing and clinician wellbeing events
City and county employee events
First-responder and public-safety associations
Veterans organizations
Faith and community groups
Chambers and business associations
FAQ
Booking Mike, answered quickly.
What talks does Mike give, and how long are they?
Two talks: Why People Stay, for hospitals, health systems and employers, and From Ship to Shore, for veterans, first responders, congregations and community groups. A typical keynote is 45-60 minutes. He also offers a 90-minute workshop, a 30-minute leadership briefing, a 30-45 minute fireside chat, and panel discussion.
Does Mike speak in person, virtually, or both?
Both. He is based in Tampa, Florida, and travels nationwide for in-person events. Virtual and hybrid dates are available.
Where does he travel from, and how far ahead should we book?
He travels from Tampa. For in-person dates outside the Tampa Bay area, reach out as early as you can so travel can be arranged. Use the inquiry form with your date, city, and format. Mike replies within 2 business days.
How do I book Mike?
Fill out the inquiry form on this page. Include your date, city or venue, audience size and type, the format you have in mind, and which talk you want. Mike replies within 2 business days with availability and a talk tailored to your group.
Can the talk be tailored to our audience?
Yes. Both talks are built to be adapted to the room, whether that is a hospital leadership retreat, an HR conference, a veterans or first-responder gathering, or a congregation.
Bring this conversation to your next event.
Share your date, location, audience, and the format you have in mind. Mike replies within 2 business days with availability and a talk tailored to your group.