Greg D. Nelson
Greg graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Dayton in 1977 with double majors in Psychology and Communications. For 10 years he worked in the local community to develop core behavioral health programs for families, schools and community organizations. In 1992, he served as Vice President for the global consulting company, DDI, where he led their international Health Care Leadership Division. He also co-authored the best-seller, Zapp! Empowerment in Health Care. In 2004, he joined the prestigious Studer Group as a senior leader and national speaker. He accepted the role of President for the Baptist Leadership Group in 2008 based in Pensacola, FL working with executive teams and leaders throughout the U.S.
A motivational speaker since 2010, Greg combines his experience with hard truths to engage leaders with practical solutions. Consistently, one of the highest rated presenters, his passion has been working with leaders who want to achieve and sustain excellence including the patient experience, staff engagement and customer service.
Greg's early work as a clinical psychologist influenced his commitment to ensure that all presentations hit the target for both leaders and staff especially related to their behaviors. Counseling others contributed to his work as a speaker and coach, and audiences appreciate his engaging, high energy approach, his humor and mission-driven focus.
He has presented nationally and internationally where he’s been a featured speaker for HCA Healthcare, DDI, Columbia University, HFMA, Yale, Ochsner, NONL, Press-Ganey, SHRM, Mt. Sinai, WellSpan, ASHE, Kroger, VHA and Vanderbilt. Event planners and the groups they represent appreciate his understanding of strategy as well as the evidence-based tools and tactics in his programs.
Since co-authoring Zapp! Empowerment in Health Care in the mid-90s, he's been a well-known champion of empowerment for over two decades. Last year in 2019, many of the most requested topics focused on how empowerment improves staff engagement, multi-disciplinary teamwork and service excellence. His principles of empowerment are more relevant to today's workforce than ever. Greg has also written articles for several publications, including in the American College of Surgeons Journal, Human Resources Executive and the Wall Street Journal
