I believe in the power of genuine connection.
I have been very fortunate to meet some spectacular folks over the years.
Some have been colleagues, others mentors, and still others associates.
At the end, all have been friends.
Here are some lovely words from the connections I have made.
Jason and I met when he interviewed me for a fellowship role at Sostento, a public health nonprofit. From day one, his passion, warmth, and dedication shone through to me, especially as he became my direct supervisor and manager. Even though we worked remotely, Jason’s openness and sense of humor made it feel like we were right there, together, and in-person. He’s the kind of person who makes every interaction feel personal and supportive, no matter who he is working with, whether that was the CEO of our organization or a fresh college grad like myself.
Personally, Jason is the first person I’ve met who blends strategic thinking with deep empathy. It’s hard to find people who balance both really well, especially in healthcare settings. When we tackled prescription refill challenges in under-resourced clinics, he looked beyond automation to improve the whole patient experience. Instead of getting stuck on the idea of automating the refill process, Jason took a step back and reframed the problem. He thought about the patient journey as a whole and realized that speeding up patient intake and ensuring they had time to ask providers questions about their medications would make a more meaningful impact. This kind of creative, patient-centered thinking wasn’t just effective—it was inspiring, reminding me why I was doing this work with him.
Outside of his strategic abilities. Jason’s compassion lifts everyone around him. He cares deeply about the people he serves and works with, and his optimism and humor make tough days manageable. In our team meetings, there was no doubt in my mind that he could navigate tough situations with gentleness or a light joke. He has a rare ability to make people feel heard and supported, which not only makes him an incredible colleague but an incredible person.
Working with Jason taught me to think bigger and care deeper. His relentless curiosity and belief in finding solutions—no matter how constrained the environment—pushed me to approach problems with renewed creativity. His dedication to combining research, public health, and data analytics showed me what it means to truly integrate different disciplines to serve a greater good. More than that, Jason’s commitment to fostering meaningful relationships reminded me that the heart of any impactful work is connection. I am a better leader, thinker, and human because of the time I’ve spent working alongside Jason.
I met Jason in 2022 when I started working at Sostento. We collaborated on numerous projects ranging from participating in research sprints to organizing large webinars. I quickly came to admire him—not just as a colleague, but as a mentor, leader, and friend.
One of the things I admire most about Jason is his ability to be fully present—physically, mentally, and emotionally—in any situation. He juggled countless responsibilities at Sostento, contributing as an invaluable member of the team. Despite his heavy workload, he had an uncanny ability to remain grounded and bring meaningful contributions to every project and conversation. Jason was my go-to whenever I hit roadblocks or needed a fresh perspective. He always listened intently, offering thoughtful, creative solutions while challenging me to think outside the box. His advice was both practical and imaginative, and his support helped me grow—not just as a team member but as an individual.
Jason truly exemplifies what it means to be a partner and collaborator, always working toward the team’s success and the greater good of the community. Even now, in medical school, his influence stays with me. When I think of him, I can’t help but smile. I’m reminded of his selflessness, creativity, and genuine friendship. Jason inspires me to embody those same qualities as I continue to grow, and for that, I’ll always be grateful.
Jason and I crossed paths while working at Sostento together back in 2021, and while we've been colleagues for a couple years now, I also consider him a friend. While working together at Sostento, I quickly learned that Jason is someone who is innovative, passionate about work that serves others, and a joy to be around. He's a great leader, teammate, and designer, but what stands out to me the most is his wittiness and unique way of approaching a challenge. He is someone you can expect to expand the boundaries of your conversation, posing alternative viewpoints for consideration, all while cracking a quick-witted joke that'll get an entire group of people laughing. He's a complex, yet systematic thinker, and he's a reliable teammate and friend. And while I know Jason's professional skills and aptitudes would serve him well in any setting, whatever team he is a part of will be lucky to have him!
I worked closely with Jason at Sostento for 2+ years in a fully-remote capacity, yet I felt his humanity shine ever so brightly through the undersea cables and magic of the internet in the COVID-19 era.
What’s more, Jason managed on so many occasions, official and unofficial, to unite not just our internal team, but those he lead through webinars full of hundreds of quite active and quite engaged participants—frontline healthcare workers at free and charitable health clinics across the US, but also distinguished public health experts, professors, and other national public health leaders.
I consider him a leader, and I do not use that word lightly. He is someone who does not go and seek out leadership roles, yet nevertheless fulfills and personifies so many of the desirable qualities of those we’d do best to have as leaders in our society—and happily, leadership roles seem to naturally find him, instead of the other way around.
Among those qualities: he listens, he studies, he truly engages with whatever field he finds himself in, and I wholeheartedly believe his talents, interests, and capabilities are only as limited and as widely varied as the opportunities he is afforded to pursue.
Chris HansonI met Jason through the Climatebase Fellowship where we worked together on ZeroMe for the last 3 months.
From the beginning, Jason always had a go-getter attitude. He gladly took on the role of leading user research for our project, refining our survey questions with speed and efficiency, yet eager to receive feedback every step of the way.
I especially enjoyed the impromptu late night design session that Jason and I had. There’s a certain bond that forms when you’re working through problems together and getting feedback on the fly. It’s something I haven’t experienced since architecture school and I’m glad I got to have that moment with Jason.
Above all, Jason tries incredibly hard to think through problems and go the extra mile. He’s endlessly humble, eager to learn, and a great teammate to have during moments high and low. I don’t doubt that Jason will be an amazing addition to any cohort or team he joins, and I can’t wait to see what amazing things he will accomplish in the future.
I first met Jason at the start of the Climatebase Fellowship, where we collaborated on several capstone projects. Throughout our work together, I grew to admire his approachable, friendly demeanor, genuine curiosity, and eagerness to support others.
I was particularly impressed by Jason’s ability to break down complex ideas and interrogate bias and assumptions. He brought valuable insights to our discussions and a genuine determination to continuously pursue deeper knowledge and understanding.
Jason’s easygoing nature and approachable demeanor made it easy for us to connect and form a strong friendship. Throughout the fellowship, I particularly appreciated his ability to exchange and discuss ideas freely, engage in thoughtful debates, and offer valuable support. I look forward to continuing to grow our friendship!
Jason was incredibly supportive throughout the fellowship, going out of his way to connect other fellows with opportunities that aligned with their interests. Within the various teams he supported, he contributed valuable user research expertise and co-lead multiple design thinking workshops. I was constantly inspired and impressed by his ability to negotiate effectively with project leads, ensuring that project goals aligned with user-centered outcomes.
Jason and I met when he volunteered to participate in a capstone project I was leading in our Climatebase Fellowship to simplify the purchase of carbon credits for retail consumers. He offered to flesh out the project’s market validation component by developing an electronic survey, getting it out to select communities, and collating the results. My preferred working style is to give people broad directions, answer any questions that they may have, and then let them get to work. Jason was fit into that approach perfectly. He was self-directed in building out the survey, collecting feedback from me and others associated with the project, and getting it set up. He listened and incorporated feedback when it made sense and questioned the rationale behind the feedback when it didn’t. The survey’s results from more than 80 respondents enhanced the profile of the customer we were pursuing, clarifying our goals.
And that wasn’t the end of it, either. Jason then worked with another Fellow to conduct one-on-one interviews to provide qualitative details to the quantitative results from the survey. Then he switched hats and worked on the design of our app’s prototype, producing results that completely wowed our larger fellowship in our final presentation and several carbon credit industry professionals with whom I’ve shared the prototype.
I’ve been awed and deeply moved by Jason’s efforts. I appreciate that he received something for his work that will benefit him in future roles: the ability to highlight three projects he led and developed. But I remain incredibly thankful to volunteers like Jason who moved an idea so much closer to becoming a company.
Chris Sandlund
