Hunter Gatewood, MSW, LCSW, is a speaker, instructor, coach, and thought partner. He works with organizations and individuals committed to improving team culture and team results. He specializes in supporting people who lead from the middle of organizations.

Over fifteen-plus years, Hunter has helped over 200 staff teams improve teamwork and performance. These teams, most of them in the complex and demanding world of health care, taught him that even though every team is unique, their challenges are not. When he starts with a new leader or team, he might say, “Great news! Your problems are normal.”

In 2013, Hunter started Signal Key Consulting, which supports professional learning networks and initiatives that engage frontline staff in health care to redesign their work in innovative ways. Clients include California Health Care Foundation, HealthForce Center at UCSF, School-Based Health Alliance, Center for Care Innovations, Royal Children’s Hospital (Melbourne, Australia), and Berkeley School of Public Health.

Before starting Signal Key, Hunter served as the director of quality for San Francisco Health Plan. As a social worker in the early 2000s, he worked in inpatient psychiatry and as a community-based case manager for people with multiple medical conditions and other concurrent problems including addiction and living on the street.