A synthetic jet actuator includes a first plate, a second plate spaced apart from the first plate and arranged parallelly thereto, and a housing positioned about the first and second plates and defining a chamber, the housing having a pair of orifices formed therein in opposing sides of the housing such that the chamber is in fluid communication with an external environment. The synthetic jet actuator also includes a mounting mechanism configured to mount the first and second plates within the housing in a suspended arrangement and an actuator element coupled to at least one of the first and second plates to selectively cause deflection thereof, thereby changing a volume within the chamber so that a series of fluid vortices are generated and projected to the external environment out from the pair of orifices of the housing.