Book Shawn
RADICAL TRANSFORMATIONS BEGIN WITH A RESET
A keynote experience for Nightingale Education Group's 2026 Annual Employee Conference
Salt Lake City — August 18–20, 2026 • Grand America Hotel
Nightingale Education Group is entering a defining moment. A rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. A surge in learner demand. A system being reimagined from the inside out.
For a moment like this, you need an opener who can do more than inspire. You need someone who can reset the room, unify 1,200 employees across roles, and give them a shared mindset for the work ahead.
That's exactly what Shawn Ellis does.
Why Shawn
The Endings Expert • Creator of Choose Your Ending™ & Radical Adaptability
Shawn empowers leaders and teams to navigate transformational change with clarity, courage, and momentum.
He has extensive experience with healthcare organizations — from hospital systems to nonprofit care networks to academic environments — and brings a uniquely personal connection to your world: his wife Megan is a nurse practitioner, giving him deeper empathy for the pressures, expectations, and emotional realities of people who support learners, nurses, and the communities they serve.
Shawn blends:
  • Engaging storytelling that speaks to the human side of transformation
  • Actionable frameworks (Choose Your Ending™, 5 C's of Radical Adaptability)
  • Humor, heart, and directness that reach every corner of an organization — faculty, staff, operations, leadership, and frontline support teams
Healthcare and education audiences consistently describe his sessions as:
"A stop-and-turn moment."
"Practical, relatable, and energizing."
"Exactly what our people needed."
"I felt like he was talking directly to me."
Shawn is available for August 18 or 20, 2026, and is an excellent fit for your opening keynote.
Two Keynote Options for Your Radical Transformations Theme
OPTION 1: Choose Your Ending™
The Reset Keynote — A Clear, Powerful Opening to the Conference
Radical transformation doesn't begin with new systems or strategies. It begins when people — at every level — let go of what no longer serves them so they can step into what's next.
OPTION 2: Radical Adaptability
The Culture Keynote — Equipping Teams for Sustainable Transformation
If Nightingale's next era requires new ways of thinking and working, this keynote gives people the tools to navigate change with clarity and commitment.
Choose Your Ending™
This keynote helps your 1,200 employees:
  • End unhelpful patterns, assumptions, and limiting stories
  • Reconnect with purpose and possibility
  • Adopt a forward-focused mindset for a year of bold change
  • Build momentum, confidence, and shared ownership
  • Embrace their role in shaping the future of healthcare education
Why it fits: This keynote sets the tone for a year of transformation and aligns every department — admissions, faculty, student services, operations, clinical placement teams, leadership, and more.
Radical Adaptability
They'll discover how to:
  • Stay grounded and focused, even when facing uncertainty
  • Communicate clearly across functions and roles
  • Make courageous, student-centered decisions
  • Build confidence through follow-through
  • Strengthen community, collaboration, and belonging across the college
Why it fits: This keynote provides a shared language for the entire organization — essential for recruiting and supporting nurses, reimagining programs, and transforming systems.

In both keynotes, your team will learn the 5 C's of Radical Adaptability — a framework leaders across healthcare praise for being simple, human, and immediately applicable.
See Shawn in Action
What Clients and Attendees Are Saying
"I received real clarity on how to let go, level up and lead to what's next. I no longer feel stuck."
- Director, Unum
"Many of our team members thought Shawn was talking directly to their hearts — and when that happens, we know without a doubt the message we wanted to convey was received.
The presentation was thought-provoking and delivered with humor, sincerity, and humility. As he presented, one would believe he had known us and our company forever. He does his homework."
- SVP, Dismas Charities
"Never thought that what could be holding me back is holding onto something that needed to end. No matter how big or how small. Never crossed my mind that that could hinder the next adventure — or move forward."
- District Manager, TBHC Delivers
"Shawn's keynote on Radical Adaptability was a highlight of our Leadership Summit. We were inspired, but we also left with practical tools.
His authenticity and impact left us better equipped to lead with calm, clarity, and courage through our transformation."
- Senior Manager, Lockheed Martin
"Your discussion set the perfect tone for the rest of our time together today. I heard nothing but positive feedback.
You have a real gift for connecting with people in a very authentic way. We were grateful to have your voice in our conversation."
- Deputy Chancellor, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
Why This Hits the Mark for Nightingale
Your purpose
Better World through Better Humanity and Better Health — is noble and necessary.
Your pathway
Collaboration, Innovative Design, and EVOLVITUDE™ — requires people to think and act differently.
Your impact
Elevating education, closing equity gaps, and preparing the next generation of nurses — demands clarity, courage, and alignment.
Shawn's message bridges the emotional, cultural, and operational realities of your work by helping all employees:
Release the habits that keep teams overwhelmed or siloed
Move forward with shared intention and unity
Embrace new ways of thinking as systems change
Rekindle the "why" behind the work
Anchor in possibility instead of pressure
This keynote becomes the spark that carries through your 2026 TED-style events, summer programming, and the entire Radical Transformations arc.
Next Steps
01
Confirm the date
Shawn is available on August 18 and August 20, 2026.
02
Select the keynote
We'll help you choose between Choose Your Ending™ and Radical Adaptability based on your opening-session goals.
03
Align the message to your theme
Once the date is secured, we'll schedule a planning call to tailor the keynote to Nightingale's mission, culture, and transformational goals for 2026.
Let's Launch Your Year of Radical Transformations Together
This conference is the moment that sets everything in motion. Shawn would be honored to help you open it with clarity, courage, and a shared sense of purpose.
Ready when you are.