Keynote Speaker in Hawaii

Hawaii keynote speaker for conferences and corporate events.

Chris Sund is a keynote speaker, Maxwell Leadership Certified Coach, and sitting executive who leads national healthcare staffing organizations. He speaks on workforce motivation, leadership, retention, and human potential for Hawaii associations, hospitals, long-term care providers, and employers.

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Response within one business day.

Why Chris Fits Hawaii

There is no next town over. When they leave you, they often leave home.

Every other state in the country has a release valve. A nurse who is finished with her employer drives twenty minutes and works for someone else, and her life stays put. In Hawaii that option frequently does not exist, especially on the neighbor islands, where the next employer may be an ocean away. So the person deciding whether to stay in your job is often deciding whether to stay in Hawaii, near their family, in the place they are from. That is a much heavier decision than a job change, and it means two things at once. People here will absorb a great deal to avoid making it. And when they finally do make it, you have not lost an employee, the state has lost a family, and they are not coming back in six months.

Hawaii has never been short on commitment to its workforce. It has been the only state with a prepaid employer health coverage mandate since 1974, and it has the highest union membership rate in the country. Those are floors, and good ones. What no mandate and no contract has ever settled is whether a person feels seen by the leader they report to, and in a place where leaving is this expensive, that is the thing standing between you and a resignation you cannot backfill locally. Chris runs national healthcare staffing organizations and has keynoted state association conferences in eleven states, including LeadingAge Illinois and health care associations in Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, and Colorado.

Operator, Not Consultant

President and COO of national healthcare staffing organizations, still making the hiring calls he speaks about.

Senior Care Experience

Keynotes delivered for LeadingAge Illinois and state health care associations representing skilled nursing and assisted living.

Shortage Realities

Most of the state is designated a health professional shortage area, so every departure costs more here than the same one would elsewhere.

Hawaii Organizations

Groups Chris speaks for.

The kinds of Hawaii organizations that book a workforce and leadership keynote for an annual conference, an in-service day, or a member education session.

  • Healthcare Association of Hawaii, founded in 1939 as the Hospital Association of Hawaii, merged with the Hawaii Nursing Home Association in 1974 and renamed in 1987, making it a single statewide association spanning hospitals, nursing homes, home health, and hospice
  • Hawaii Primary Care Association in Honolulu, which has worked on behalf of the state’s network of community health centers for more than thirty years
  • Hawaii State Rural Health Association and the Hawaii and Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center, serving the neighbor islands and rural Oahu
  • Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, the public benefit corporation operating community hospitals across the islands
  • State and local SHRM chapters, chambers of commerce, school districts, and the University of Hawaii system
Beyond Healthcare

Hawaii industries with the same problem.

Healthcare is where Chris operates, but every employer in the islands is working against the same math.

Hospitality and Tourism

Resorts and visitor industry employers running continuous operations, where frontline turnover is the defining cost.

Public Sector and Education

State agencies, counties, and school districts holding in-service days and leadership development.

Construction and Trades

Island projects where an experienced crew genuinely cannot be replaced from the next county.

Utilities, Transportation, and Logistics

The operations that keep the islands supplied, staffed around the clock and competing for the same workers.

Where He Speaks

Hawaii cities and venues.

  • Honolulu and Waikiki, where most statewide association conferences and corporate meetings are held
  • Ko Olina and the Oahu resorts for leadership retreats and incentive meetings
  • Maui, including Wailea and Kahului, for association and employer events
  • Kona and Hilo for Hawaii Island hospital, senior care, and community audiences
  • Lihue and Kauai for neighbor island healthcare and civic events
  • Virtual sessions for member education across all islands without the travel cost
Event Types

Hawaii events Chris speaks at.

Association Conferences

State, regional, and national association annual meetings and general sessions, the format Chris works in most often.

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Long-Term and Senior Care

Skilled nursing, assisted living, and continuing care conferences and in-service days.

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Hospital and Health System Events

Leadership days, nurse recognition events, and system-wide meetings across the islands.

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Corporate and Annual Meetings

All-hands gatherings, sales kickoffs, and incentive meetings, including national meetings hosted in Hawaii.

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HR and SHRM Chapter Events

Human resources conferences and chapter meetings on hiring, retention, and employer brand.

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Rural and Neighbor Island Healthcare

Leadership days for the community hospitals and health centers serving the neighbor islands.

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Programs

Keynote topics for your Hawaii event.

Every session is customized for the audience, the format, and what you are actually trying to change.

See what conference organizers and HR leaders have said after booking Chris.

Questions

Booking a keynote speaker in Hawaii

Has Chris spoken in Hawaii before?
Chris has keynoted state association conferences in eleven states, including LeadingAge Illinois and health care associations in Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, and Colorado, which serve the same hospital and long-term care audiences. See past speaking events.
Our problem is that people leave the islands entirely. Can a keynote address that?
Not the cost of living, no. What it can address is the part of the decision you control. People rarely leave a place they love over one factor. They leave when the job has stopped giving them a reason to absorb everything else, and that reason is usually a person rather than a policy.
Does Chris travel to Hawaii?
Yes. Chris is based in Fremont, Nebraska and speaks nationwide, including Honolulu and the neighbor islands. Travel and timing are worked out with your conference schedule.
Can he speak on a neighbor island rather than Oahu?
Yes. Maui, Hawaii Island, and Kauai events are all workable, and pairing more than one island in a single trip makes the travel economics better for everyone involved.
Does Chris only speak to healthcare audiences?
No. Healthcare is where his operating experience sits, but the material is about motivation, leadership, and retention, which applies to hospitality, construction, education, and government. See the corporate speaker page.
What does a Hawaii keynote cost?
Fees depend on format, travel, session length, and whether the booking includes a workshop or book copies. Each event is quoted directly, usually within one business day.
Can Chris speak virtually to a Hawaii audience?
Yes. Virtual keynotes and webinars are available with no travel cost, which works particularly well for reaching staff across several islands at once. See past webinars.
Hawaii City

Keynote speaking in Honolulu.

The city page covers local employers, the venues Chris speaks in, and the specific workforce pressure leaders there are working on.

Ready to Book

Bring Chris to your Hawaii event.

Send your date, location, and audience. You will get availability and a quote back within one business day.

Check Availability

info@chrissund.com · 402-212-5771 · All locations


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