Laura W. Synnott

Professor Synnott teaches Project Management and Strategy Development to graduate students throughout the university. Additionally, she teaches Advanced Project Management and a capstone course, Managing Mergers, Alliances and Divestitures to physicians enrolled in the Master of Medical Management (MMM) degree program. From 2004-2008, Laura also served as Executive Director of Health Care Programs at Heinz College, overseeing two masters degree programs.

In addition to her position on the Carnegie Mellon faculty, Laura is the founder and principal of a management consulting firm providing seminars, retreat facilitation, consulting and coaching in the areas of operations, project management and strategy development. She has over thirty-five years of executive management and consulting experience, with an emphasis on health care organizations. Laura’s past experience includes several years as a hospital operations vice president overseeing ancillary and support departments as well as construction management activities. She was also responsible for managing the hospital medical services office for a 600-physician medical staff organization.

Laura completed a five-year term as chair of the Board of the Directors of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network (PSCN), a non-profit provider of a wide range of living and care options for the elderly in western Pennsylvania. During nearly 18 years on the board, she chaired the board’s executive committee, affiliation task force and strategy committee. She advises entrepreneurs in the growth and expansion stages of development, focusing on governance, strategy, and operational excellence.

Laura is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), and previously served as Chair of the Health Care Section of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). She also chaired the Committee on Healthcare Operations and Management of the Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania (now the Center for Healthcare Solutions).

She was a member of the Leadership Pittsburgh XXXV cohort and has co- hosted the organization’s health care day for subsequent cohorts.

In addition to being a member of the Project Management Institute, Laura is a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) in the Scrum Alliance, an organization focused on agile project management practices.