Haneen Omar

Haneen Omar credits her success to her persistence, flexibility and surrounding herself with great people.

“Being an effective leader requires dedication, determination, perseverance and great people to help you achieve your goals,” she said. “Never give up on your objectives and vision. The greatest leadership lesson I have learned is to always be aware of your surroundings and know how to adapt to any given situation that comes your way.

“Delegating has also been a very important part of my leadership. Having the right people and teams in place is key to success. A great leader can’t do it alone, you need a team that you can trust to manage what needs to be done going forward.”

Omar is founder and CEO of 2nd Home Community, a provider of adult day- and home care services for the elderly and/or disabled. Its mission is to ensure the elderly and disabled are receiving the highest quality care.

The company was conceived during a 2014 family get-together over Christmas in Texas. Omar’s sister was a social worker there, and she shared her frustration with the lack of care and placement options in Texas for the elderly who are blind and adults with developmental disabilities. Inspired to help, Omar developed a business plan to address the problem for her sister, who declined to take the risk and launch the business. Omar did more research in her home state of Colorado and found many of the same problems there that her sister described in Texas. Omar then took the leap and launched her business in Colorado to help elderly and disabled adults.

Today, Omar is determined to expand her company’s services. She wants to build modern facilities that will include adult day-care centers and a life-skills academy for developmental disabilities clients throughout Colorado. Eventually, the company aims to expand beyond Colorado and into other states. Revenue projections are $20-$25 million in the next five years, the company said.

“My team and I are constantly working on expanding our reach in our communities and building leading facilities in Colorado to provide care to individuals who need it,” Omar said. “My life’s work is to aid the underprivileged and make our community a better place to live for many years to come.”

Omar has made it her life’s work to help the underprivileged. In 2016, she founded the 2nd Home Adult Day Service Center of Aurora to provide the elderly and individuals with disabilities daytime programming, emotional support, and assistance with healthcare issues.

In 2019, Omar founded Helm Community Services (HCS), and in August, HCS organized the second annual “Taste of the Middle East’’ festival to celebrate Middle Eastern culture. Community members from every walk of life came together to listen to Middle Eastern artists and taste Middle Eastern food from local restaurants in Colorado.

“Throughout Haneen’s career, she has been a tireless advocate for those who are all-too-often marginalized,” her staff said. “Driven by her mission to bring the community together — regardless of beliefs, race or cultural background — Haneen has found unbelievable strength in differences and diversity.”