Building a Sustainable, Collaborative Practice from the Ground Up
-
-
Last updated: February 11, 2026
In this story, we highlight the careers of Susan Quigley, DC ‘09 and Liz Gingrey, DC ‘09: co-founders of SuNu Wellness in Minnetonka and Minneapolis, a thriving, interdisciplinary practice with a focus on pre/postnatal and pediatric care. We discuss how they built the clinic, their advice for building a sustainable practice, and what makes the work rewarding.
It’s not surprising that Sunu Wellness is a welcoming place for babies, kids, and birthing parents. When the clinic opened in 2011, Susan Quigley, DC ‘09, had a one-month-old of her own.
“I just knew that I didn’t want to return to that clinic after maternity leave,” she explained, referring to her previous associate position. She considered buying that practice but ultimately decided it wasn’t the right fit—she wanted to build a demographic and brand that was more aligned with her approach. So, when her son was only one week old, she started looking at spaces.
“I would say that the universe pushed me to start my own practice. I wasn’t necessarily ready, but I don’t know if we’re ever ready to start a family or start a business. So, we just did both at the same time.”
Collaborative From Day One
SuNu Wellness —which means new beginnings— opened in 2011 in Minnetonka. From the start, Dr. Susan built a multidisciplinary team. Classmate Liz Gingrey, DC ‘09 moved back to Minnesota to join as a co-founder.
She remembers when Dr. Susan shared her plan. “I was like, can I join you? I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else.” They hosted initial team meetings in Dr. Susan’s backyard, and those conversations continue to inform the clinic today: “We wanted people to have care under one roof, where providers work together on a treatment plan,” shared Dr. Liz.
“There can be so many gaps when you’re in different systems. I think as providers we all do our best to try to bridge those gaps, but things fall through the cracks. So, we asked ‘how much better care can we establish when our providers are able to work together?” With that in mind, they opened SuNu Wellness with an acupuncturist, a massage therapist, one front desk person, and a nutrition response testing practitioner.
“Those are the pillars that have always been there,” Dr. Susan shared. More than just having different disciplines under one roof, they prioritized collaboration and synergy from the start. Patients noticed.
“The feedback we get from our clients is it still isn’t super common to have a truly integrative approach. It’s something people really appreciate. When we draw up a treatment plan, it’s really what the client needs first. And they don’t have to completely start their history from scratch every time they add another modality to their care.”
Dr. Susan went on: “It’s messy, but beautiful too. We’ve always modeled that this is the path forward for healthcare: a more integrated, holistic approach.”
Building a sustainable practice
What started with a backyard meeting 15 years ago has grown into a thriving community with two locations (Minnetonka and Linden Hills) and 20 providers, including many NWHSU grads. How did Dr. Susan and Dr. Liz build such a sustainable practice?
“Something I try to instill with interns as part of the CBI program is that sense of sustainability,” Dr. Susan shared. “Being able to make it work for your body physically and ergonomically is one piece that they talk about in the curriculum. But the energetic, emotional piece is something that takes a bit more practice.”
She encourages interns and new practitioners to consider their self-care practices on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. “How do you fit those things in and prioritize it so that you can show up well as a mom, a partner, business owner, leader, doctor, provider, employer—all of those take a lot of intentional work. That’s something that we try to model.”
For the logistics of building and maintaining practice, Dr. Susan started working with a business coach before even opening SuNu. “Which I would recommend to new grads or seasoned entrepreneurs at any point,” she explained. “Having some guidance and mentorship was really important.”
Following their passion and excitement to specialize
SuNu’s focus on whole family care came naturally, following the interests of Drs. Susan and Liz. Dr. Liz recalls that, from the start, events and marketing they did towards pediatrics and prenatal care were most successful. “More than likely because we were more excited about it, right? People feel that energy and excitement.”
Dr. Susan started on her journey into chiropractic and nutrition because of her own experience struggling with endometriosis and had an interest in women’s health care from the start. Then, starting a practice with a new baby, she was immersed in the homebirth community. “The midwives, doulas, prenatal yoga, all of that network building happened right from the beginning, just because of the phase of life I was in.”
Dr. Liz has known she wanted to be in pediatrics since she was a child, distinctly remembering being lied to about a finger prick by a nurse and being incredibly upset. “I vowed that I was going to be a doctor that kids liked to go see and develop trust with families.” Originally, she was pre-med, but after shadowing chiropractors, she knew it was the right career for her.
“They got to do something and that person walked out feeling a different way,” she explained. “So, now I get to see kids and pregnant bodies and post-pregnant bodies—I’m really getting to do what my five-year-old self hoped to do.”
The Reward of Offering Multi-Generational Care
What’s special about SuNu—for both the patients and the practitioners—is the continuity of care across a lifespan.
“It’s really cool to become part of someone’s family, a cornerstone of their healthcare, seeing them throughout all their different life stages,” reflected Dr. Liz. “Someone will come in pre-conception, then you’re with them through their fertility journey, pregnancy, postpartum, you see their kiddos, and all of a sudden these kids are graduating from high school.”
Dr. Susan added that some of these children have grown up and chosen to become chiropractors. “To have that impact on people, to watch them tap into their bodies or gain awareness of what an amazing ripple effect they could have with this career path, it feels inspiring!”
And of course, the small wins add up too. “When you help a colicky baby and the parents see the baby smile for the first time, that’s the work that keeps me coming in,” shared Dr. Susan. “Even when there’s a lot of hard cases or the world is really heavy. There are those little bright spots, those glimmers that keep it all worth it.”
Advice for Future Chiropractors
Dr. Susan shared her advice for people considering chiropractic as a career:
- If this is your calling, chiropractic is a reliable career choice. “There’s not going to be an AI bot that replaces chiropractors—that physical touch and connection is not going to be replaced like many other industries. So, if it calls to your heart and is aligned with your passion and purpose: then this is the calling.”
- Find mentors. “Choose people who you see being successful, whether in this industry or elsewhere. Having a circle of mentors is going to be important to continue to grow and move the planet forward in the direction we need to go.”
- Know your values and be open to growth. When SuNu hires, they’re looking for people who embody their values. “If they align with our pillars, it’s going to be an easier fit. They’ve already done some of the healing work and they’re committed to personal growth. They want to learn more and they’re open to feedback. When a new grad is resistant to that, it can be trickier to help guide them or open their perspective.” Wherever you choose to work, aligning values and being open to learning and growth will be key to success.