Founder 2 Founder

Shelly Sun Berkowitz is the founder of BrightStar Care and the Executive Chairwoman of BrightStar Holdings Parent, LLC, the parent company of BrightStar. BrightStar provides medical and non medical home health care and medical staffing services through a national network. After identifying a gap in the market through her own personal family experience, Berkowitz founded BrightStar in 2002 in the Chicagoland area and expanded it through franchising in 2005.

Today, BrightStar has more than 400 franchised and corporate-owned locations nationwide that employ 15,000 caregivers and 5,700 registered nurses overseeing the care and safety of each individual client. For more than two decades, Berkowitz grew BrightStar from a local business to a nationally recognized brand that generated more than $750 million in annualized system wide revenue before selling the majority to an affiliate of Peak Rock Capital in early 2025; Berkowitz remains a material shareholder and active board member. Since the sale of BrightStar, Berkowitz is devoting her time to supporting other female founders.

Shelly Sun Berkowitz is the founder of BrightStar Care and the Executive Chairwoman of BrightStar Holdings Parent, LLC, the parent company of BrightStar. BrightStar provides medical and non medical home health care and medical staffing services through a national network. After identifying a gap in the market through her own personal family experience, Berkowitz founded BrightStar in 2002 in the Chicagoland area and expanded it through franchising in 2005.

Today, BrightStar has more than 400 franchised and corporate-owned locations nationwide that employ 15,000 caregivers and 5,700 registered nurses overseeing the care and safety of each individual client. For more than two decades, Berkowitz grew BrightStar from a local business to a nationally recognized brand that generated more than $750 million in annualized system wide revenue before selling the majority to an affiliate of Peak Rock Capital in early 2025; Berkowitz remains a material shareholder and active board member. Since the sale of BrightStar, Berkowitz is devoting her time to supporting other female founders.

By focusing on quality, Berkowitz has positioned the BrightStar brand as the premium provider of home care, evidenced by full Joint Commission Accreditation of its network and third-party validation of superior outcomes. From commissioning major clinical and health care data studies to creating a franchise model built for longevity, writing her own franchising book, and endowing a franchise certificate program at her alma mater, Berkowitz has made major strides to propel her business and network forward. Berkowitz and BrightStar were the focus of season 2 episode 21 of the popular CBS show “Undercover Boss” as the first home care brand featured on the program.
Berkowitz is an innovative, forward-thinking trailblazer focused on driving promising results and building a strong, positive workplace and franchise network culture. Berkowitz’s strategic mindset to innovate, create new opportunities and increase her brand’s market share drives brand growth and performance. Her tenacity and thought leadership have been nationally recognized as she was also named one of the top 25 highest-rated CEOs during the COVID-19 crisis by Glassdoor, a 2023 Women of Distinction in the health care industry by McKnight’s Haymaker Media, and an Ernst & Young 2023 Entrepreneur of The Year® Midwest Award winner. Berkowitz was also the subject of two Harvard Business School Case Studies—BrightStar Care: The Evolution of a Leadership Team and Shelly Sun at BrightStar Care: The Evolution of a Leader—which analyze the evolution of BrightStar under her leadership. 

By focusing on quality, Berkowitz has positioned the BrightStar brand as the premium provider of home care, evidenced by full Joint Commission Accreditation of its network and third-party validation of superior outcomes. From commissioning major clinical and health care data studies to creating a franchise model built for longevity, writing her own franchising book, and endowing a franchise certificate program at her alma mater, Berkowitz has made major strides to propel her business and network forward. Berkowitz and BrightStar were the focus of season 2 episode 21 of the popular CBS show “Undercover Boss” as the first home care brand featured on the program.

Berkowitz is an innovative, forward-thinking trailblazer focused on driving promising results and building a strong, positive workplace and franchise network culture. Berkowitz’s strategic mindset to innovate, create new opportunities and increase her brand’s market share drives brand growth and performance. Her tenacity and thought leadership have been nationally recognized as she was also named one of the top 25 highest-rated CEOs during the COVID-19 crisis by Glassdoor, a 2023 Women of Distinction in the health care industry by McKnight’s Haymaker Media, and an Ernst & Young 2023 Entrepreneur of The Year® Midwest Award winner. Berkowitz was also the subject of two Harvard Business School Case Studies—BrightStar Care: The Evolution of a Leadership Team and Shelly Sun at BrightStar Care: The Evolution of a Leader—which analyze the evolution of BrightStar under her leadership.