Spotlight: Jason Kean, director of operations
Sharecare’s Health Data Solutions (HDS) team plays a critical role in helping providers deliver timely, accurate access to medical records, facilitating the transfer of millions of records each year across health systems, practices, and plans nationwide. As a trusted partner, this team supports organizations in navigating complex workflows while enabling higher quality, more personalized care.
This month, we’re proud to spotlight Jason Kean, director of operations and the 2025 Health Data Solutions Operational Excellence winner. Jason was recognized for his leadership in strengthening how our teams work, communicate, and support one another in fast-moving environments.
In his role, he supports managers across some of the largest hospital systems in the Northeast, helping them step back from the day-to-day and identify ways to improve how their teams operate.
Outside of work, he enjoys playing ice hockey after recently getting back into the sport with his 10-year-old daughter — someone he describes as one of the people he admires most.
We’re pleased to showcase Jason and his contributions to Sharecare, and hope you enjoy learning more about his career path, his approach to leadership, and what operational excellence looks like in practice.
Can you tell us about your role?
I’m the director of operations for Health Data Solutions in the East. I manage a team of five operations managers, and we support a number of clients across the Northeast.
Day to day, a lot of my focus is just working with managers on my team — supporting them, helping them think through challenges, and figuring out how we can improve how their teams operate. I try to help them step back a little bit from the day-to-day and look at the bigger picture, especially when things get busy.
For me, it’s a bit of everything: working with customers, clients, leadership, and managers; providing guidance across levels; solving problems; and adapting my communication style depending on who I’m speaking with. One of the things I enjoy most is being able to connect with different audiences while continuing to learn from the people around me.
What does your team oversee?
We manage release of information, and I also oversee a document routing team that works throughout the country. We represent some of the biggest hospital networks in the Northeast. We work with large systems like MaineHealth, Mass General Brigham, and Beth Israel Lahey Health.
Each manager is usually overseeing multiple sites within those systems, so it’s a pretty big scope. We’re working with some really large hospital networks, so there’s always a lot going on.
What are your team’s priorities right now?
It really depends on the manager and the account, but there are a few things we’re focused on. One is a big privacy update — making sure managers feel comfortable with it and are able to lead their teams through those changes and communicate it clearly.
Another is operational excellence. For us, that’s really about process maturity — how we’re communicating, how we’re documenting things, how we’re engaging our teams, how we’re working with clients. It’s kind of across everything we do. We’re always looking at how we can improve what we’re already doing, not just for the sake of it, but in a way that actually helps the team.
Can you share a bit about your career journey leading up to Sharecare?
I studied political science and started my career working for a state representative. I started as a legislative aide and worked my way up to director of constituent affairs for the chairman of house ways and means in Massachusetts.
I was there for about 12 years, and I really loved it. Every day was different, and you had to think on your feet. When my boss stepped down, I decided it was a good time to try something new. I was interested in healthcare if I was going to leave government, and I found an opportunity at Sharecare for an operations manager role.
It was definitely different from what I had been doing, but I took the role and have been here about eight years now. I started as an assistant operations manager, moved into an operations manager role, and then into my current role as director.
What are some of the biggest challenges in your role?
My team’s day-to-day is really busy. They’re managing employees, working with clients, and there are a lot of things coming at them at once — emails, requests, things that feel urgent all the time.
I think one of the bigger challenges is just helping them step back from that a little bit. I try to come in with more of an outside view and help them look at what they’re doing and ask, “Is there a better way to do this?” or “Is there something we can adjust that would make this easier?” Because a lot of times it just feels like they’re being pulled in a lot of different directions.
What advice would you give other managers trying to support their teams?
Trust your employees. Be present for them, but also give them space. Everyone works differently, handles stress differently, and prioritizes differently, so it’s important to recognize that.
I try not to dictate too much. It’s more about supporting people in finding what works for them, because they’re in their roles for a reason. And then more broadly, I think just don’t be afraid to be wrong.
What’s the best career advice you can share?
I think the biggest thing is don’t be afraid to be wrong. Say what’s on your mind, speak up, and let that be part of how you learn. At the same time, I also think there’s something to just taking your time, not reacting to everything immediately, and giving yourself space to think things through.
There’s value in knowing when not to speak and when to pause, listen, and think before reacting. A practice that has helped shape this is my meditation. It has taught me patience, perspective, and how to create a little space between an event and my response. I try to bring that same thoughtfulness into work, especially in moments that require calm judgment. A big part of that practice is finding the space between the breath and staying in the moment; this is something I think about often and apply to both work and my life.
How do you like to spend your time outside of work?
I play a lot of hockey and spend a lot of time with my 10-year-old daughter. She actually got me back into the sport. I played ice hockey growing up from about age four through high school, but then I stopped for a long time. About three years ago, she started playing, and I got a pair of skates just to get on the ice with her at practice.
I also love to travel and just got back from a two-week trip to Japan with my daughter. We went to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. It was amazing. Just being somewhere completely different, seeing how people live, and especially seeing it through her perspective was really special.
Who has been the biggest influence on your life?
I don’t think I’d point to just one person. I get a lot from the people around me — friends, family, just the people I interact with regularly. I like talking things through with people and hearing different perspectives, and that’s something I carry into both my work and my personal life. I try to stay open to the universe from what I see in people, situations, and everyday moments.
Who is someone you admire?
I’d say my daughter. She was diagnosed as deaf a few years ago and recently got cochlear implants. She’s gone through that whole process without really missing a beat. She didn’t bat an eye — she just handled it.
She deals with everything that comes her way with a level of grace and ease that feels really advanced for a 10-year-old. It’s kind of just like, “It is what it is,” and she keeps going. Seeing her now as she’s starting to develop her hearing, it’s been really special to watch. She’s always positive, always smiling, and just takes everything in stride.
That felt like the most dad answer ever.
What would your theme song be?
That’s such a hard question. I think about all the music I grew up listening to, but a lot of it doesn’t really feel like a theme song — it’s more just tied to different moments. But if I had to pick one, I’d say “End of the Line” by the Traveling Wilburys.
