Her Story
About Kathryn
I have dedicated 18 years to the senior living industry, and it has been an incredible journey. I started as a certified nursing assistant and caregiver, working in a nursing home where I fell in love with the senior living population. I felt that I could make a difference in their lives, because sometimes just that moment with them is all that they have. My former COO at Freedom Senior Management, Gail Chase, believed in me and saw potential in me before I even saw it myself. She mentored me, sent me to get my administrator's license, and provided the necessary training requirements. I took over as administrator for memory care and assisted living, and we remained full at 100% occupancy in both. After taking on an executive director role at another community that went into receivership, I have been serving as an area executive director for over 4-5 years now. I oversee the operations of two communities, doing startup in the morning with both teams, prioritizing my day based on deadlines and operational needs, conducting walkthroughs to inspect what I expect, and interacting with residents, families, and team members. I am very hands-on. My main area of expertise is assisted living and memory care, especially memory care, which is where my passion truly lies. I know the ins and outs from both the clinical aspect, where I started, and the operational side. My most notable achievement is my ability to go into a community that may not be thriving and turn it around, both in culture and occupancy, while building strong relationships with families and staff members without causing disruption to the community.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kathryn
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to being true to who I am as a person and standing firm in what I believe in. At the end of the day, we're all just people, and I realize that even though we may be in a business and hold titles like executive director, titles go away but we're all just human beings. I communicate in a way that recognizes this. I'm a caring person by nature and I take care of everyone around me, not only residents whose care I oversee, but also my employees. I get to know them and help them through life situations because some people struggle, and I want to be that person that steers them in the right direction. Being a mom has caused me to be very focused and determined, because I was a mom at a young age and I never wanted to fail, so I always put 100% in whatever I'm doing.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My mentor, my COO at Freedom Senior Management, always told me that no matter where you are in your career, it's always about being honest and being true and holding your integrity, because at the end of the day, that's all you have. That's what I do. I am true to who I am, what I believe in, and what I stand for. It's never failed me throughout my career. As long as I'm honest, forthcoming, and communicative, I have nothing to hide.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
One thing that I would give to a young female in our industry would be making sure that you're always honest, and making sure that you build your circle of trust around you, because not everyone wants to see a woman succeed, so you just have to be mindful and just be careful when you're coming into this industry. Not a lot of people, we should be, because I always root for people to succeed and grow, but you just gotta be careful. Be honest and true to who you are, stand for what you believe in, and determine what you believe in.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say overall staffing would be a big opportunity. Just overall, senior living and even in the medical field globally, there's a shortage for staffing ever since the COVID pandemic, so staffing is definitely one of the challenges. The other would just be consistency in performance for some of the leaders. Even people that hold leadership positions, just consistency.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I am a very caring person by nature. I take care of everyone around me, obviously being a mom, so my children, my family, and then in my work life too. Not only do I take care of residents and navigate their care and oversee their care, I also like to take care of my employees as well. I get to know them and kind of help them through life situations, because there are some people that struggle through life situations, and I want to be able to kind of guide them and be that person that steers them in the right direction. I'm a person first. Even though we may be in a business and be an executive director, whatever our titles may be, at the end of the day, we're all just people.
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