Kristin Kelly, CEO & Founder
We are proud to partner with clients, collaborators, and consultants who combine expertise and practical solutions to raise the floor of healthcare. Our first Spotlight features our CEO & Founder, Kristin A. Kelly, whose vision helps operators reach their goals to improve the lives of patients and members.
Kristin never set out to replicate the traditional healthcare consulting model. She set out to redefine it entirely.
After almost 20 years of navigating healthcare systems across the corporate, non-profit, government, and startup sectors to improve patient outcomes and experience, her vision was clear: create a space where highly-talented consultants empower innovative healthcare organizations by bringing their unique strengths and selves, rather than being molded into a one-size-fits-all approach as many large firms require.
Kristin’s vision came to life in 2023 when she launched Voyageur Health Advisory. Rooted in core values of authenticity, creativity, and excellence, the healthcare consulting firm specializes in providing strategic, growth, and medical economic solutions for payer, provider, and digital health companies.
In just over a year, she’s grown it to employ 20 consultants, united by a collaborative culture that supports both meaningful work and life responsibilities, like parenting, caregiving, and volunteering. For Kristin, this means spending time with her husband Jamal, two daughters, and dog. It also means enjoying the lakes near her home in Minnesota, listening to endless podcasts, and traveling to new places.
Beyond its culture, Voyageur Health Advisory’s secret sauce is the operator experience that every consultant brings. Kristin shares, “Our team knows what it’s like to implement real business decisions and see their outcomes. Whether helping a client navigate a complex state regulatory process to bring a new health plan to market or guiding a digital health startup through a growth phase, we empower them to reach their full potential and achieve long-term success.”
Kristin’s north star is to raise the floor of healthcare, one person at a time. Seeing her parents navigate chronic medical conditions during childhood, despite having excellent coverage and care, opened her eyes to how challenging the healthcare system can be. It fueled a lifelong curiosity about the barriers for those with fewer resources and a deep commitment to closing equity gaps, specifically Medicaid, ACA, and Medicare Advantage populations. “”Everyone at Voyageur Health Advisory genuinely wants to leverage their career experience to make healthcare better for all,”” she says.
One of Kristin’s proudest accomplishments is their work assessing, building, and pricing a new suite of health plans for a Texas-based health plan and provider. And with 20+ client engagements in a dozen states, her impact is only beginning.
Together, we can raise the floor of healthcare. Follow us for more spotlights on the people and partners redefining healthcare, and connect to learn more.