Gaylord Specialty Healthcare President Joins Legacy Theatre Board

Press release

BRANFORD, CT May 23, 2024 – Legacy Theatre is thrilled to announce that Sonja LaBarbera joined the Board of Trustees as of February 26, 2024. 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. LaBarbera’s 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.

“We are thrilled to have Sonja join our Board of Trustees!” said Legacy Theatre President of the Board, Stephanie Stiefel Williams. “She brings not only a wealth of expertise from her experience running a highly successful nonprofit, but also brings an appreciation and passion for theatre. We are honored to have her join our Legacy family!”

LaBarbera earned her Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University and her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from State University of New York at Fredonia. She serves on the Board of Directors of Gaylord Hospital/Gaylord Farm Association Inc., which oversees all services offered by the organization’s care continuum. LaBarbera advocates for the long-term acute care hospital industry on the board of the National Association of Long-Term Hospitals. She was appointed 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. The Hartford Business Journal has perennially named LaBarbera to its Power 25 Healthcare list since 2020. She was the 2020 recipient of the New Haven Biz Women Who Mean Business award and named the 2019 Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year. In 2021 and 2023, she was recognized as “Top Leader” in the Large Employee Category by Hearst Media CT. With LaBarbera at the helm, Gaylord Specialty Healthcare was named a Hearst Media CT “Top Workplace” from 2021 through 2023 and received the “Top Workplace Culture Excellence – Innovation Award” in 2022 and 2023.
The organization was ranked among the nation’s “Top 150 Places to Work in Healthcare, 2022” by Becker’s Healthcare.

LaBarbera joins recent Board addition James Roday Rodriguez (Psych, A Million Little Things) in this leadership role, as well as Williams (President), Jana Shea (Vice President), Katina Gionteris (Secretary), Luke Williams (Treasurer), Damian Doria, Charles Grady, Brian Knudsen, Kathleen Murphy, Tom Shea, and Jeff Provost (Ex-Officio) on the Board of Trustees. The Board met this past weekend for a retreat and are excited for all to come in the 2024 season and beyond.

The Legacy Theatre is located in the village of Stony Creek in Branford, CT, at 128 Thimble Islands Road. To learn more about the Legacy Theatre 2024 season, please visit LegacyTheatreCT.org
or call the Box Office at (203) 315-1901. The Legacy Theatre is committed to providing live theatre and related programming that is accessible to the widest possible audience. Full accessibility and accommodations details can be found on Legacy’s website or
by calling the Box Office.