Laura Synnott is associate teaching professor of health care policy and management at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. She previously served as executive director of health care programs for the H. John Heinz III College, her responsibilities included the master of medical management (MMM) and MS in health care policy and management (MSHCPM) degree programs.

Synnott teaches project and health care management courses to physicians, health care executives, IT professionals and graduate students from a variety of disciplines and industries. In addition to her position on the Carnegie Mellon faculty, she provides consulting services to health care providers in the areas of operations, project management and strategy development. She frequently works with organizations interested in improving their project performance through education, coaching and establishing a formal program management function.

Synnott previously spent 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. She has overseen numerous projects, including an outpatient surgery addition, emergency department expansion, credentials verification organization and dozens of consulting engagements.