Like many of us, Heather Riggs did not plan a career in multifamily. She happened to see a “now hiring” sign outside a leasing office 25 years ago, and that job as a leasing agent led her to the role that she holds today leading operations for a national apartment operator, Continental Properties. Today, she continues to lead while fighting cancer — and finds ways to encourage others amidst her health battles. She is not “back to normal,” she admits, but she hasn't let it stop her from doing the job she loves -- traveling the country to walk her apartment communities and spend time with her teams in person. In this conversation, she talks about why she made her diagnosis public, how she keeps the hard days from becoming the whole story, and why strong leadership is measured by what happens when she is not in the room. She also gets into the work she still loves: taking care of residents without saying yes to everything and building leaders instead of making herself indispensable. Heather also shares about how Continental is thinking about 2027 — a real but uneven recovery, disciplined new development, and why the Midwest remains a core bet — all within this fast-paced 10-minute conversation hosted by rental housing economist Jay Parsons.