Skip to main content
About Us

Our Company

Committed to Safety, Quality, and Continuous Improvement

Synensys was founded to address safety and quality gaps in high-risk industries such as Healthcare, Aviation, and Defense. These gaps or hazards lead to financial losses, serious injury, loss of organizational reputation, and even death.

Our founder, Dr. Stephen Powell, experienced the death of his father in 2002 due to a preventable medical error. He quickly realized that his family’s loss was not unique or an isolated incident.

Preventable patient harm and death due to medical errors became the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Dr. Powell believed we could do better, and 20 years later, Synensys has helped over 500 high-risk organizations in the U.S. and 11 other countries achieve better outcomes through the development of safer systems and operators.

"We rooted our methods in safety engineering, systems theory, and human factors based on our safety and quality successes from other high-risk industries. Today, we continue to help our clients address new threats to safety and security.

Our clients are industry leaders who maintain a continuous improvement mindset, learn from errors, avoid blame, and focus on the whole system—not just individual components.

We will continue to make a culture of safety our north star no matter the industry, the client, or the challenge. Together, we are making the world a safer place."

Stephen M. Powell

Dr. Stephen Powell
CEO, Synensys

Our Leadership Team

Stephen M. Powell, DHA, MSc
Chief Executive Officer
Read Full Bio

Daniel Wyman, MD, MPH, FAsMA
Chief Medical Officer
Read Full Bio

Michelle Axelson, BA, CPPS
Program Manager
Read Full Bio

Mark H. Smithwick, MBA, PMP, CPPS
Program Manager
Read Full Bio

Christine Tilson Lux, BA
Business Development Manager
Read Full Bio

Todd Spain, MSc
Human Resources Leader
Read Full Bio

Melissa Speice, CPA
Controller
Read Full Bio

Alana Keller, MBA, PMP
Program Manager
Read Full Bio

Our Mission

  • To Maximize the Capacity of High-Risk Organizations to Achieve Safer Outcomes

Our Vision

  • Safer Outcomes in High-risk Situations

Our Values

service icon

Service Excellence

resilience icon

Resilience

team icon

Team Orientation

ethical icon

Ethical Behavior

respect icon

Mutual Respect

communication icon

Open Communication

Capability Statement (PDF)

Safer Outcomes Start Here

Contact Us