Kierstin Conner, RN, Vice President of Client & Caregiver Engagement at Home Halo, has been named to the Future Leaders Class of 2026 by Home Health Care News.
To become a Future Leader, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a high-performing employee who is 40 years of age or younger, a passionate worker who knows how to put vision into action, and an advocate for seniors, and the committed professionals who ensure their well-being.
Conner sat down with Home Health Care News to share what drew her to the home health & home care industry, the biggest leadership lessons she has learned, her thoughts on the future of home health & home care, and much more. To learn more about the Future Leaders Awards program, visit https://futureleaders.wtwhmedia.com/.
HHCN: What drew you to the home health & home care industry?
Conner: My path started as a nurse and a genuine love for the senior population. I’ve always been drawn to serving people at their most vulnerable times, but honestly, my entry into home care came through someone taking a chance on me.
Dan, the founder of Home Halo, believed in what I could bring to this work before I fully understood the industry myself. The moment I stepped in, I fell in love with it. There’s something profoundly meaningful about helping someone stay in their own home, the place they’ve built their life, with their dignity intact. That combination of purpose and people kept me here.
HHCN: How would you describe your leadership style, and how has it changed over time?
Conner: I lead with relationships first.
I believe that trust is the foundation everything else is built on – with clients, families, caregivers, and colleagues alike. Early on, I leaned heavily on hustle and figuring things out as I went. Over time, I’ve learned to slow down enough to listen more deeply, ask better questions, and create space for the people around me to do their best work.
Leadership in home care isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about showing up consistently for people who are counting on you and making sure they feel seen and supported in the process.
HHCN: What is the biggest leadership lesson you’ve learned while serving the home health & home care industry?
Conner: That the work is deeply personal and you can never forget that. Behind every intake call, every care plan, every family meeting is a real person navigating one of the hardest seasons of their life.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that empathy isn’t soft. It’s strategic. When you lead with genuine care for the person in front of you, trust follows, outcomes improve, and the work becomes sustainable in a way it simply can’t be when you’re just focused on process and metrics.
HHCN: In one word, how would you describe the home health & home care industry and why?
Conner: Real.
Everything about this industry is real. The need is real. The relationships are real. The impact you have on someone’s life when you help them stay in their own home is as real as it gets.
I didn’t come into home care through a textbook. Someone took a chance on me, I showed up, and I fell in love with work that actually matters. There’s no pretending in this industry. You either care about people or you don’t, and the families we serve know the difference every single day.
HHCN: What do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges currently facing the home health & home care industry?
Conner: The biggest opportunity is the growing recognition that home-based care is the future of healthcare delivery and we’re positioned to lead it.
Families want their loved ones at home. Veterans deserve to age with dignity. The demand is there and growing.
The challenge is the workforce. Attracting, retaining, and properly supporting quality caregivers is the defining issue of our time in this industry. If we can solve for caregiver investment, compensation, culture, and professional growth, we unlock everything else.
HHCN: If you had a crystal ball, what do you think will impact the home health & home care industry over the next 5-10 years?
Conner: Technology will reshape how we deliver and coordinate care.
Remote monitoring, AI-assisted scheduling, and telehealth integration will all become standard tools rather than innovations. But alongside the tech shift, I believe there will be a renewed emphasis on the human element, because as automation handles more logistics, the relationship between caregiver and client becomes the true differentiator.
HHCN: In your opinion, what qualities must all Future Leaders possess?
Conner: Resilience, humility, and a willingness to do the hard thing when it’s the right thing.
Future Leaders in home care have to be comfortable with discomfort, advocating for clients when it’s inconvenient, having difficult conversations with families, and pushing for growth inside organizations that may resist change. They also need to be genuinely curious about the people they serve and never let the operational side of the business numb them to the human side.
The leaders who will define this industry’s next chapter are the ones who show up with both ambition and heart.