Gaylord Leadership | Meet Our CEO and Senior Management Team

Sonja LaBarbera was appointed Chief Executive Officer and President of Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in January 2019. She is the first woman and speech-language pathologist to hold the position since the organization’s founding in 1902.

With nearly 30 years in the healthcare industry, LaBarbera is a patient-focused leader experienced in clinical operations, strategic planning, business development, leadership development, and philanthropy. She works with healthcare systems and academic and research institutions to foster collaborative efforts to support superior patient outcomes. Her signature, inclusive leadership style was profiled in the 2022 book “Conscious Accountability.”

LaBarbera’s vision fostered the launch of the Institute for Advanced Rehabilitation, which includes the state’s first residency program in physical medicine and rehabilitation, a nurse residency program, a Certified Nursing Assistant Academy, and the Milne Institute for Healthcare Innovation, which accelerates world-class rehabilitative research, technology development, and innovation.

A fierce advocate for the long-term acute care hospital industry on the board of the National Association of Long-Term Hospitals, her leadership has not only propelled Gaylord to new levels of clinical excellence but also established it as an employer of choice. During her tenure, Gaylord has consistently earned recognition for its workplace culture, innovation, and employee engagement, including multiple Top Workplace designations and national honors as one of Becker’s “Top Places to Work in Healthcare.”

LaBarbera herself has been widely recognized for her influence and impact in healthcare.

In 2025, she was tapped for induction into Women of Impact, an exclusive, national group of women changemakers in healthcare.

She has been a regular on the Hartford Business Journal’s “Power 25 in Healthcare” list and was named to Becker’s Healthcare’s “Women Hospital Presidents to Know” in 2025. Her leadership excellence has also been highlighted by organizations including Hearst Media Connecticut, New Haven Biz, and the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce.

She serves as the Diversity Officer of the Connecticut River Valley Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization and joined the board of Legacy Theater in Branford. She actively participates as a member of the International Women’s Forum of Connecticut, the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Healthcare Financial Management Association, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and as a member of the School of Health Sciences Advisory Board at the University of New Haven.

LaBarbera earned her Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University and her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the State University of New York at Fredonia.