Suggestions
Amira Dhalla
Tech, Security, Privacy, Equity and Rights
Professional Background
Amira Dhalla is an accomplished speaker, facilitator, and educator who has made a significant impact in the world of technology, security, privacy, equity, and social good. With a diverse and rich background, Amira has dedicated her career to ensuring that the internet and technology are equitable, secure, and inclusive for all individuals, regardless of their backgrounds. Her extensive experience includes leadership roles at prestigious organizations and a commitment to promoting human rights within the technology sector.
Throughout her career, Amira has taken on various roles that showcase her expertise in technology and public policy. Currently serving as the Director at Consumer Reports, she leads initiatives that advocate for fairness and transparency in technology. Her prior experience as the Associate Director at Consumer Reports further solidified her dedication to consumer rights and technology equity.
Amira's contributions to the field are not only limited to her roles within organizations. She has also held a crucial position at Columbia University, where she worked as part of the Technology, Media, and Communication program at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). This experience allowed her to engage with some of the brightest minds in the field and to advocate for meaningful changes in the way technology interacts with societal norms and values.
In her previous role at Mozilla, Amira led global programs focused on gender and education, highlighting her commitment to diversity and inclusion. This experience enhanced her understanding of the complexities of technology's impact on different demographics and ignited her passion for driving positive change.
Education and Achievements
Amira's academic journey is a testament to her dedication to understanding the intersections of technology and human rights. She completed her Master of Public Administration in Human Rights and Technology at Columbia University in the City of New York, equipping her with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to influence policies and strategies in the tech realm.
Additionally, she holds a Digital Media Certificate from New York University, which has honed her skills in leveraging digital platforms for advocacy and education. Her foundational education includes a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University, providing her with a robust understanding of business principles that are essential in navigating the tech industry.
Amira’s academic and professional experiences have culminated in a strong reputation as a thought leader in her field. Her work has not only generated awareness around critical issues but has also influenced policy changes and initiatives across multiple platforms.
Achievements
Amira’s career is marked by numerous achievements that underscore her effectiveness as a leader and advocate in the tech industry. As the Director at Consumer Reports, she has led campaigns that empower consumers to understand their rights in an increasingly complex digital landscape. Her work involves analyzing the impact of emerging technologies on privacy and security, thereby contributing to a more informed public.
During her time at Mozilla, Amira was instrumental in increasing access to educational resources for diverse populations, particularly focusing on women and underrepresented groups in technology. By spearheading initiatives that bridge the gender gap in tech, she demonstrated her commitment to fostering inclusion and promoting equality.
Her roles, ranging from Community Organizer at the Centre for Social Innovation to Marketing and Community Manager at My City Lives, showcase her versatility and passion for community-driven initiatives. She has a proven track record of effectively communicating complex ideas to different audiences, making significant contributions to the discourse around technology and social good.
In her earlier roles, including her tenure at Disney Consumer Products and QuickPlay Media, Amira applied her business acumen to drive marketing strategies and enhance product outreach. Her experiences in analyzing market trends and consumer behavior have equipped her with valuable insights that continue to shape her approach towards creating a more equitable tech industry.
Amira Dhalla exemplifies what it means to be a forward-thinking leader in the tech space, combining her academic prowess, extensive experiences, and a genuine passion for social equity. As she continues on her journey, she remains a pivotal figure in advocating for an inclusive future in technology.
Highlights
So very excited to share that I’ve joined the (UCLA) Center on Race & Digital Justice as a Justice Fellow.
As CRDJ celebrates its two year anniversary, I’ve admired and appreciated the leadership of Vanessa Rhinesmith, Safiya Noble, Ph.D., and Akina Younge, for constantly centering care and community in a more equitable tech future (and in the industry). To join them in this is nothing short of a dream! Feel free to get dreamy with me at their newly launched site: https://lnkd.in/gNa6BjiK
As a Fellow, I’ll be building out my project called ‘The People’s Digital Defense’ that looks at how emerging technologies change (or should change) how we care for our communities. After a decade of researching and programming how to help people stay safe digitally, I’ve been dreaming of new frameworks that prioritize and uphold privacy, are consent based, enable us to be secure, focus on community care models, and prevent digital harm. Together, I hope we can build a movement to empower digital security in our communities through collective care.
It's live! I'm thrilled to officially announce the release of ✨ BAD INPUT ✨ - a three-part mini documentary series that looks at how biases in algorithmic and big data disproportionally impact communities of color. The films look at how old and outdated (often racist and sexist) data is being used to determine our access to financial opportunity, health care products and services, and the drive of surveillance capitalism. The truth is that algorithms are used to make decisions for us every day, often without us knowing, and are having different impacts on different people. Please watch, share, and join our movement towards algorithmic justice as we continue raising the alarm and fighting for better transparency, regulations, and accountability.
Special thanks to our co-collaborators at Kapor Center (Lili Gangas Candase Chambers Paul B. and team). Our Consumer Reports production team of Leah Fischman Brian Vines Andrew Bergmann (and the many others at CR who helped make this possible like Daniela Nuñez Joel Keehn Brian Goldstein Tracy Anderman Marissa Mann Elliot Weiler Cyrus Rassool and so many more). Our many partners who have provided thought, space, and collaboration on the films/movement: All Tech Is Human Mozilla Fight for the Future DAIR.AI ACLU and more. And of course, all the experts featured in the films.
Press release: https://lnkd.in/dYT5ih3w
Take action by signing this petition: https://lnkd.in/dMTzJ_6S
https://lnkd.in/ddrVU5Yc 👇 👇 👇
People also viewed
C
Related People
Mesh is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Mesh centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.