Lori Gunther

Meet Lori Gunther

Keynote Speaker, Author, Innovator and Crisis Counselor

Organizations Lori Has Worked With

Academy of Neonatal Nursing
APHA - American Public Health Association - For science. For action. For health.
AWHONN - Promoting the Health of Women and Newborns
The Beryl Institute
Children’s Wisconsin - Kids deserve the best.
The Gravens Conference
Intermountain Health
March of Dimes - Healthy Moms. Strong Babies.
National Perinatal Association
National Association of Neonatal Nurses

Speaking Topics

The Art of Difficult Conversations

Get The Skills Needed To Be Confident & Effective When Having Difficult Conversations

Guilt Shame and Imposter Syndrome

The On-Going Battle For Being Enough

Knowing When to Let Go

Strategies For Nurses To Strengthen Leadership Skills, Create Boundaries And Assess Career Aspirations

The Entrepreneur’s Book of Wisdom

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Lori Gunther and Melissa Gehl, co-owners of Synova, showcase their story and the success of a 50/50 partnership in this anthology. Their contribution to this collective genius is focused on how female-driven strategy and equal co-ownership can work for any new business owner. In it they share lessons learned and early wins once they purchased Synova in 2019.

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Podcasts

No Ego with Cy Wakeman

Finding Genius in the Collective – Healthcare Edition

Difficult Conversations with Dr. Anthony Orsini

Speaking the Truth – Debriefing Nurse Leaders

Nurse Leadership by Listening to and Supporting Nurses

About

Lori Gunther, MS, CPXP

CEO/Partner, Synova Associates LLC

Lori is a champion for improving the current culture in nurse leadership and is passionate about creating forums for leadership development and engaging in the evolution of the role nursing has in the healthcare landscape. She is a certified patient experience professional, accomplished speaker and visionary thinking in the field of maternal infant health. As the current CEO for Synova Associates she has led its growth over the last four years from an event-based company to a strong active community of neonatal and perinatal nurse leaders that generate support, innovation and promote professional well-being in healthcare. Since joining Synova, Lori has worked to share its strategy and vision with association partners, sponsors, and executive nurse leaders globally. She was previously the Senior Director of NICU Innovation at the March of Dimes where she directed their professional education portfolio, spearheaded the development of the March of Dimes Training Institute, and provided the strategic vision for the NICU Family Support Program. A trained professional counselor, and is a nationally recognized expert in the fields of patient experience, crisis intervention, PTSD, communication skills, and maternal fetal health. She is on the board of directors of the Patient Experience Institute and the National Family-Centered Care Taskforce. She is published in multiple journals, has authored 3 white papers on topics covering Improving the Patient Experience in NICUs, Nurse Leader Burnout, Leadership Peer Support, done numerous podcasts with leadership hosts like Cy Wakeman, Dr. Anthony Orsini and Bonnie Clipper. She was recently published in a book titled The Entrepreneur’s Book of Wisdom releasing February 2023. Lori lives in Atlanta with her three children.

Lori Gunther Had Me From The Moment She Walked On Stage!

Five Stars
“She is passionate, vulnerable and inspiring when sharing her story and the audience can feel it. She is masterful at commanding an audience, and could make them feel as though she was speaking directly to them. I’ve worked alongside many speakers in my career and Lori definitely, and she is too notch! I would highly recommend her to any organization looking for a remarkable speaker or keynote!”

Cy Wakeman
International Speaker on Leadership & Management, NY Times Best Selling Author, and Global Thought Leader

Testimonials

Cy Wakeman

Cy Wakeman

International Speaker on Leadership & Management, NY Times Best Selling Author, Global Thought Leader

She is passionate, vulnerable and inspiring when sharing her story and the audience can feel it. She is masterful at commanding an audience, and could make them feel as though she was speaking directly to them. I’ve worked alongside many speakers in my career and Lori definitely, and she is too notch! I would highly recommend her to any organization looking for a remarkable speaker or keynote!
Rose Horton

Rose L. Horton, MSM, RNC-OB, NEA-BC

FAAN Founder & CEO, #NotOnMyWatch, Consulting Partners

As the CEO of Synova Associates Lori Gunther has amassed experiential learning as well as meaningful relationships that she leverages to advance healthcare. and to create community for nurse leaders. She speaks with passion and conviction and has a genuineness about her that welcomes everyone into the conversation. You leave her session feeling as if she was speaking directly to you, which is a unique gift.
Stacie Wood

Stacie Wood, MSN, RN

Perinatal Safety Officer

Lori: Leadership begins when you believe you can make a difference. Lori Gunther came into my life when I was searching for “more”. Not only did she empower, support, and listen; she was innovative, and compassionate. I was met where I was and encouraged every step of the way. I was accepted and transformed. This allowed me to lead passionately while fostering commitment in meaningful work. It helped me appreciate the value of culture, diversity, genuine leadership, and growth. I am inspired and motivated to help others reach their true potential while being rooted in the ability to know how to take care of my authentic self. Thank you Lori for helping me discover so much “more”! “Once you believe you matter, help others to believe they matter”
Luann Jones

Luann Jones, DNP, APRN, NNP-BC, NE-BC

NANN Board Member and Nurse Leader

I first met Lori almost 10 years ago when she was Senior Director of NICU Initiatives at March of Dimes. She wowed me with her on-stage presence, public-speaking abilities & her passion for improving NICU care. Lori now pours her passion & energy into her company Synova Associates, which supports the professional growth & development of Perinatal & NICU nurse leaders. Lori took the reins of this company at the start of the COVID pandemic. Despite all the challenges thrown at her as a new business owner, her support of nurse leaders did not waiver. She is a fearless leader & advocate who does not give up. Lori is strategic & a true visionary.
Diane Rogers

Diane Rogers, PCC, CPXP

President, Contagious Change

Lori Gunther is a brave, visionary leader. Full Stop. She is thoughtful and decisive, confidently taking bold and meaningful steps forward on behalf of the nurse leaders she chooses to serve. She is empathic AND compassionate, bringing understanding and action to support, educate and empower those individuals at the center of their mission - nurse leaders. Watching and listening to Lori, you can't help but feel like you can conquer any challenge - she inspires, relates and she brings out the best in each individual.
Dena Carey

Dena Carey RN, BSN, BS

Associate Vice President of Women and Infant Health Services, Virginia Hospital Center

Lori Gunther is a passionate and dynamic speaker that is able to genuinely capture her audience!  She instantly connects with people and has an inspiring persona that is palpable by all!

Book Lori Gunther For Your Next Event

Schedule A Call With Lori
Lori Gunther

Speaking Topic

The Art of Difficult Conversations

Why do people, teams, and organizations get stuck? Poor communication! This leads to loss of staff, productivity, profit and trust. This highly interactive session will use discussion, improvisational exercises and next step challenges to give you the skills needed to be confident when having difficult conversations. Because, in the end, this is the key to unlocking better teams invested in finding solutions together and the most effective way to create meaningful, positive change.

Speaking Topic

Guilt Shame and Imposter Syndrome

The on-going battle for being enough

Impostor syndrome is increasingly presented in the media and lay literature as a key behavioral health condition impairing professional performance and contributing to burnout. Impostor syndrome within the nursing context describes high-achieving nurses who, despite their successes, fail to internalize their accomplishments and have persistent guilt self-doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud or impostor. People with impostor syndrome struggle with accurately attributing their performance to their actual competence (i.e., they attribute successes to external factors such as luck or receiving help from others and attribute setbacks as evidence of their professional inadequacy). This session is aimed at helping nurses understand and recognize imposter syndrome and the guilt that can stunt their progression into a leadership position whether that be a formal or informal opportunity.

Speaking Topic

Knowing When to Let Go

Strategies for nurses to strength leadership skills, create boundaries and assess career aspirations

Sometimes our lives take a path we least expected and we have to let go of a person, a job or even a role before we are ready to. Learning how to be clear about who and what we are is so important to be able to embrace our leadership journey and be an authentic leader. Learning how to hold others accountable, and create strong boundaries helps to let all leaders/nurses know when they need to say no ask for help or move on to a new professional goal. As nurses leave the profession in record numbers skills are needed to support those still in bedside and leadership roles to achieve a healthy work life balance.

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