Lori Gunther & Melissa Gehl

Lori is a champion for improving the current culture in nurse leadership and is passionate about creating forums for leadership development. She is a certified patient experience professional, holds a master’s degree in crisis counseling and has been a nationally recognized speaker for over 20 years. As the current CEO of Synova Associates, she has led the company’s growth to become a strong active community of neonatal and perinatal nurse leaders that generate support, innovation and promote professional well-being in healthcare. Lori has also worked to expand Synova’s mission and vision to include the global nursing community. She previously worked at Albany Medical Center’s NICU before moving into a leadership position serving as the Senior Director of NICU Innovation at March of Dimes. She directed the Neonatal and Perinatal professional education portfolio, spearheaded the development of the March of Dimes Training Institute, and provided the strategic vision for the NICU Family Support Program®. Lori is a published author and has been interviewed on numerous news outlets and podcasts. She is a current executive board member of the Patient Experience Institute and lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family and her dog Angel.

Melissa is a visionary thinker and operational strategist who has been a leader in maternal child health for over 15 years. Melissa enjoys working closely with nursing leaders and industry experts to cultivate new strategies and resources for nurses that can improve patient safety, employee engagement, and give leaders the encouragement to take the next step in their career journey. As the Chief Operating Officer of Synova, Melissa is highly skilled at executing the vision for the expansion of services offered to nurse leaders by this innovative company. She seeks out opportunities to blend the use of creative approaches with an analytical basis. Melissa is a trained social worker and certified patient experience professional. Prior to joining Synova, Melissa spent eleven years at March of Dimes. In this role, she led the development of a nationally standardized NICU parent education curriculum, created print and digital educational materials, trained healthcare staff across the country on family-centered care and patient experience, and helped many NICUs achieve their patient experience goals through customized program planning. Melissa lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her husband and two children.