Make your company a place where people feel connected

The best way to prevent resenteeism, quiet quitting, burnout, and rage applying (when they angrily rush to apply for jobs at your competitors) is to create a workplace where people feel valued, respected, and a strong sense of belonging.

My name is Kat Vellos and I help teams create a stronger sense of belonging and connection. I know personally what disconnection at work feels like as a queer Black woman in America. But I also know how amazing workplace connection feels, which is why I’m passionate about making it available to all people.

I’ve interviewed hundreds of knowledge workers about what makes them want to stay in their jobs — and lemme tell ya, zero of them said that invisibility and pervasive loneliness were on the list. But when they suffer from it, they often suffer in silence. You need to prevent it, and solve it if it’s happening.

Let’s work together!

Recent Event

San Francisco Design Week asked me to lead a session to connect participants in a meaningful way. Here’s a sneak peek behind the scenes.

A few of my many happy clients

My Secret Sauce

As a former UX researcher / UX designer, I made software more user-friendly for millions of users at Pandora and Slack. I now employ that same human-centered design process to find ways to make life more user-friendly. I’m here to help people and teams thrive through cultivating stronger connections to each other.

Before I became a UXer, I was a professional facilitator and program director, designing and running empowerment programs that helped people express their most creative and authentic selves. I understand the psychology of what makes people tick, what helps them connect, and what supports them to thrive individually and collectively.

Look below for:

  • My current offerings

  • Testimonials from clients

  • Recordings from a few previous talks

  • My booking form

Kat Vellos speaking at a hybrid event for in-person and remote employees at Chegg Inc. Kat is wearing a bright blue and yellow skirt and a black top, and speaking in front of a screen that shows remote attendees.

Catalyst Conversation

This fireside chat focuses on concepts and questions that provoke reflection and the cultivation of authentic connection in your attendees' lives.

This is my most popular booking because:

  • It’s very flexible and adaptable

  • Its highly-engaging nature allows participants to both learn something new and connect with each other in a meaningful way

Before the event, I’ll meet with your team's event coordinator and moderator to identify the most high-impact topics for me to share with your audience. The moderator can be any person on your team that is skilled at guiding a conversation, embodying the desired energy of the event, and bringing our conversation to life.

Once the event's focus is clarified, I’ll also provide guidance on event design, and the framing and sequencing of the event’s components. I provide guidance on audience participation options, such as chat engagement, the structure and design of breakout group experiences, and debrief activities.

If desired, I can also offer consultation on suggested actions that your team can take after the event to capitalize on the momentum of the event and foster greater cohesion among participants/staff/attendees.

(This event is available virtually and in person)

Kat Vellos and Roy Bahat speaking about connection and designing better conversations

Keynote Talks

My keynotes are warm, funny, deeply-researched, and inspiring. Each of my keynotes are rooted in the core topics of my expertise:

⭐️ How connection and disconnection manifest in our lives (both in and out of the office)

⭐️ The steps that individuals can take to ensure that authentic, supportive connection is available to them now and in the future.

“The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships”
What is “social health” and why does it matter more than eating healthy and exercising? Why do 61% of Americans report feeling lonely on a regular basis, when we have high-speed internet everywhere and more ways to stay connected than ever before? Why is making friends as an adult so frickin’ hard? In this keynote, I’ll break down the research about all of the above, and give attendees a clear path forward to creating more successful friendships in adulthood, even if they just moved to a new city, feel overwhelmed by the demands of parenthood, or if their calendar already feels like it’s bursting at the seams.

“The Other L Word”
Why do so many workers feel lonely in their careers, both in their specific company and within their industry? Workplace loneliness is the elephant in the room, and mandatory karaoke nights aren’t going to solve it. In this talk, I break down the causes of workplace loneliness, and how to prevent it and cure it. Don’t worry this talk isn’t a bummer — it’s energizing, motivating, and gives you the data and action steps you need to cultivate real connection in the workplace.

Note: A special edition of this talk is available for the design sector of the tech industry. Design culture has nuances that can create uniquely frustrating challenges. But design culture also has unique gifts that other industries don’t have when it comes to solving the problem. ;)

(All keynotes are available virtually and in person)

Kat Vellos facilitating an online session via zoom with a grid of attendees giving applause at the end. L

Cultivating Connection

In the Cultivating Connection workshop, participants explore platonic connection from multiple angles to identify what's getting in the way of connection and how they can invite more fulfilling experiences of friendship and colleagueship into their lives on a more regular basis. Participants will leave informed, inspired, and energized to overcome the challenges that have been holding them back. 

During the session, I share galvanizing insights from my research into loneliness, connection, and friendship during adulthood. Participants will learn which actions lead to the most successful friendships and what common pitfalls must be avoided. 

Highly interactive, this workshop includes a variety of reflection exercises, breakout groups, writing exercises, and interactive activities. Participants will create an action plan that gets results, and they’ll leave feeling motivated and excited to make it happen.

This workshop is a fit whether participants want to create more fulfilling friendships in their personal lives, professional lives, or both. 

(Available virtually and in person)

What clients and collaborators are saying

  • “We hosted a fireside chat with Kat during our Open Enrollment ‘season,’ and it was a spectacular session, with 70+ in attendance. The genuine conversation was felt over zoom and allowed the community to open up, ask questions and become vulnerable when learning about social wellness. The group and participants had applicable takeaways that could be put into practice immediately. We are very excited at the potential to welcome Kat back to our community in the future, as her methods compliment our community and culture while also challenging us for growth and development.”

    Loralie Young, Culture And People Enablement Manager, Human Interest

  • “Kat Vellos’ Fireside Chat was interactive, impactful, and left our community buzzing with additional conversation sparked by the ideas she shared. She was thoughtful, heartfelt and presented her expertise in a way that felt more like a generous conversation rather than a one-way presentation. I would recommend Kat to anyone who needs an engaging speaker for their community or event.”

    Enrika Greathouse, Community Advocate, The Right Company

  • “Kat’s presence is like a warm hug from an old friend. Her compassionate, down-to-earth, and insightful facilitation is one of the best things I’ve chosen to enrich my creative workshops at Adobe. Every single person left Kat’s session more comfortable and open-hearted, which greatly enhanced the overall experience of my event and lead to some real and deep connections.”

    Pollyanna Macchiano, Program Manager, Adobe

  • "Kat Vellos, is a visionary leader and inspirational speaker who I've had the pleasure to learn from and see in action. Over the years, she has managed to build a reputation as a luminary figure in her quest to bring people together, creating a network that fosters belonging, empathy and togetherness. Her passion to help people achieve their best is apparent in the way she speaks and lives out her life."

    Maurice Woods, founder, Inneract Project

  • “Having Kat speak to our team was an inspiring, eye-opening, and empowering experience! She took the time to identify our team’s needs, to be able to deliver content that was tangible, informative, and uplifting. Thank you for an amazing session! We appreciate you!”

    Haley Martin, People & Culture Specialist at MetaLab

  • “Kat facilitated a session that was full of deep questions, which provided for ample amounts of connection among our colleagues. In particular, the inquiries provided a space for reflection on topics that are core to who we are.”

    Daniel Moglen, Education Specialist, UC Davis Health - CTSC

  • “Collaborating with Kat to host a Fireside Chat on cultivating connections & friendship was an absolute honor. She has this amazing ability to make everyone feel comfortable, heard and to spark a deep level of engagement. Her work with We Should Get Together has boosted our team’s conversations and has continued to inspire us weeks after our event. Kat has opened our minds while leaving a warm, lasting impression. Our hearts are smiling, thank you Kat!”

    Patricia Biswas, Wells Enterprises

  • “Kat Vellos is a compelling, hilarious and knowledgeable speaker. She engaged the entire room via clever anecdotes, accurately gauging the mood of the room, and starting off the presentation with thought provoking questions. She kept guests laughing and nodding — creating a perfect blend of hearing content and interacting with the content. She then gave off the cuff yet highly articulate responses to the many questions they had.”

    Vanessa Pope, co-founder MudLab

  • “Collaborating with Kat on an interactive keynote was an absolute joy - her depth of knowledge and attentiveness made for efficient communication and an end product that left our conference attendees feeling checked-in and ready to sink into our community event.”

    Christen Penny, Design Education Manager, Workday

  • “Wow. What an incredible session today. The women got so much out of it. Even after you left they got clearer and clearer on your impact and new actions to take to nourish this area of their lives. Thank you for saying yes to this work and being a champion of deep, meaningful connection and friendship—especially in the times we are living in.”

    Amber Krzys, Leader Of The Fierce Loving Advanced Coaching Program

Booking Inquiry Form

Want me to speak with your company, organization, conference, retreat, summit, trade association, networking association or community group? Or want to interview me for your press article, podcast, radio/TV show, or Youtube channel? Use the form below to describe what you’re looking for.

Cameras On

I’ve given 250+ live talks and workshops, mostly face-to-face but tons of virtual too. Here are a couple recordings of recent speaking events.

Kat Vellos giving her Tedx Talk, titled “The Transformative Power of a Single Invitation.” In this talk, Kat shares multiple inspiring stories about the cascade of positive changes that can result from having the course to extend a single courageous invitation.

LinkedIn News’ Jessi Hempel sits down with Kat Vellos to learn about how friendship works in adulthood. In 27 minutes, we unpack navigating reciprocity, how to show up for your friends, and how social media can complicate the whole process. You’ll get fresh approaches to growing strong friendships — even if there’s a screen between you.

Kat Vellos and Lisa Congdon unpack the power of healing and reconciliation in friendship — or, when it’s time to say goodbye.

Kat Vellos joins Jonathan Fields for a conversation about creating community from scratch, and cultivating real friendships that last in adulthood.

Kat Vellos and Jocelyn Glei examine what happens when you stop asking your friendships to serve you, and instead ask how you can be of service to your friends.

Kat Vellos speaking virtually at CreativeMornings Oakland, on Jan 22, 2021. Kat Vellos is author of the book We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships, and she speaks about how adults can make and maintain healthy friendships and colleagueships.

More about Kat

AUTHOR

Kat is the Author of We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships which was called “marvelous” by BookLife, a subsidiary of Publishers Weekly. Kirkus Reviews called it “a heartfelt and winningly optimistic guide to understanding—and finding more—friendship.”

Kat’s writing is read in over 100 countries and has helped thousands of adults around the world form deeper platonic connections and heal from disconnection and loneliness.

CREATOR

Kat is the creator of Better than Small Talk, and the creator of the Better Conversations Kit (also available as a calendar), which provides twelve months’ worth of fresh alternatives to all of our most tired check-in questions, helping you bring new life to your conversations and relationships.

DESIGNER

Past roles include Senior User Experience Designer, UX Researcher, UX Designer, and UX/UI Designer. Kat has researched, designed, and advised on the user experience of countless flows in digital products serving millions of people at Slack, Pandora, and multiple Silicon Valley startups.

In addition to her design work in the corporate sector, Kat also has multiple years of experience designing transformative arts-based empowerment programs in the education and nonprofit sector.

FOUNDER & COMMUNITY LEADER

Kat created Bay Area Black Designers in 2015, and she led the group’s monthly gatherings for seven years until its sunset in 2022. As a company-agnostic employee resource group, BABD provided professional development and community for 500+ Black design professionals living in the San Francisco Bay Area. BABD members represented startups, agencies, design studios, universities, midsize companies, and large corporations. BABD was loved and cherished by members, especially those who know what an isolating experience it is to be the only Black designer in their company or design team.