Employee Spotlight – Shawn Clancy

Shawn Clancy is a rock-star employee and our Data Engineer Manager. He started his career as a pharmacy technician, before briefly dabbling in video game creation, ultimately landing in the field of computer science. Originally from Toms River, NJ he’s been with Vital Decisions for four years. Shawn has vast creative hobbies – from singing in a metal band to gaming to writing short stories. Shawn works in our Informatics department as the Data Engineer Manager.

  What does it mean to be a Data Engineer Manager?

I oversee our Informatics department which is responsible for the managing, monitoring, storage and distribution of data, whether it is data our customers are sending us or data we are creating internally. Additionally, I am responsible for designing tools, functionality and reporting for every department within the organization so that they can optimize their use of the data and ensure business goals are met.  This role allows me the ability to be involved in all aspects of the organization and have responsibilities tied to every department from system development to financial reporting.

  What drives the work you do?

The mission, the work we do, and knowing there are people who rely on me.

  What makes Vital Decisions unique compared to other organizations you’ve been a part of?

Management level really listens to us and communicates very well. It’s great to see the CEO tuned in to what we are going through and our wants and needs. The level of caring is different for me. We have a good mission which is a big motivator. It feels good to play a significant part in something that makes a difference in someone else’s life.

  You have a lot of different interests/hobbies – do you feel like any of them compliment the work you do here?

On a basic level, my interest in video games pushed me to get more involved with computers and how software works and also got me thinking about pattern recognition and system optimization. Playing lots of role playing games probably set the groundwork for me to better understand those concepts so that when I encountered them in a business setting, I got my head around them pretty easily.

  What’s a lesson you feel like you’ve learned in working here?

A lesson I have learned here is if you recognize that something is a problem and you believe you have the capability to fix it, you should take that opportunity.  In the past I would say that some things weren’t part of my job description or something like that and try to pass on certain things I wasn’t totally comfortable with.  But I wanted to be more of a leader and someone people could rely on, and that means having to step up to unexpected tasks sometimes and be proactive.

  How does your culture/heritage intersect with the work we do?

What we do cuts across all demographics. I think end of life is not something that people in America think about enough and that it needs to be a bigger topic in our culture. I know I certainly didn’t put too much thought into it before. Now I know how important it is to figure out what I want and to get it documented.  I’m still figuring all that out, but I know there are questions I will have to answer eventually.

Julie Moloney, VP Client Relations

We are very lucky as an organization to have Shawn and I am especially fortunate that he is on my team. The work he does impacts every department and all of the feedback consistently echoes the same message that he is so easy to work with, a great team player and he always delivers. In addition to his calm and rarely flustered personality, one of the many great things about working with Shawn is that he doesn’t take a request at face value, he probes deeper to understand the why behind the ask to make sure that he is delivering not just what is asked for, but what is needed.

Shawn is a pleasure to work with. He is reliable and dedicated to his job at Vital Decisions. Plus–he always has a smile on his face and a good joke to share!

Maggie Tinsley, Clinical Account Executive

Lauren Brophy, Product Marketing Manager

Since having the pleasure of working so closely with Shawn, especially over this past year, it is clear to see how much he brings to our company. Shawns general knowledge in his field coupled with his creative problem solving capabilities and innovative forward thinking has had such a positive impact on the work we do. I’m personally so thankful to have Shawn as a partner in our many brainstorming sessions, a sounding board to bounce ideas off of and at times some comedic relief! Thank you Shawn for all you do!

I have worked closely with Shawn over the past two years and it is wonderful to see him grow over the years. His skills and knowledge are unparalleled. Along with that, he brings an energy and dependability that makes him crucial to Vital Decisions. It is quite a pleasure to work with him.

Jean Mugisha, Data Scientist

Shawn is truly a star. He is a creative problem solver, a critical thinker, and an all-around positive team mate to work alongside. He looks for and finds meaning and vision in his work – this is what I appreciate about him most. To Shawn, his work is not just work – it is critical mission to be accomplished. How incredible.

Tracy Brubaker, COO