Laura Avakian

Following a 30-year career as an executive in prestigious healthcare and higher education organizations, Laura Avakian now consults with organizations and individuals to enhance their personal, professional and corporate effectiveness.

Before starting her consulting practice, she held positions as Vice President for Human Resources for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the world's premier universities, and Senior Vice President, Human Resources, for the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and its parent corporation, CareGroup. Under her leadership, her employers repeatedly won "best workplace" awards. Her innovative work focused on leadership development, executive coaching, organizational culture, and performance improvement.

She received her B.A. degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia and her M.A. degree from Northwestern University. She is past president of the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) and the Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA). In 1996 she received the annual Award for Professional Excellence from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the highest honor given by that international organization.

A frequent speaker on management effectiveness and organization transformation, she has authored numerous articles and book chapters. Her new book, Helping Physicians Become Great Managers and Leaders, is widely used as a text in leadership development programs. She has served on the boards of both for-profit and not-for-profit companies, and is currently on the board of directors of South Shore Hospital, a regional medical center in suburban Boston, MA.