Laura Cooley, PhD BIO
Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Patient Experience

Laura Cooley, PhD, is a healthcare communication and patient experience leader who helps organizations strengthen trust, engagement, and relationship-centered care. She currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Patient Experience, where she champions evidence-based research and practical insights that advance safety, quality, and patient-centered outcomes.

Before her current role, Dr. Cooley held executive leadership positions with The Academy of Communication in Healthcare, partnering with C-suite teams to build communication and patient experience strategies that drive measurable improvement. Her work sits at the intersection of communication, value-based care, and innovation—translating complex challenges (including emerging technologies like AI) into clear, actionable steps for leaders and frontline teams.

As a keynote speaker, facilitator, and advisor, Dr. Cooley is known for making patient experience practical—connecting the “why” to the “how” with frameworks teams can apply immediately. She brings a mission-driven perspective focused on humanizing care, aligning experience efforts with organizational goals, and improving outcomes that matter most to patients, families, and clinicians.