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Ashley Schelling
Director of Digital Engagement at The Brookings Institution
Professional Background
Ashley Wood Schelling is a highly accomplished professional in digital engagement, known for her innovative strategies and prowess in communications. With a robust background in political science and communications, she currently serves as the Director of Digital Engagement at The Brookings Institution, where she leads efforts to enhance digital outreach and engagement in a way that fosters civic engagement and informs the public on key issues. Ashley's career trajectory highlights a strong commitment to utilizing digital platforms to connect with audiences and promote meaningful conversations around policy, governance, and societal challenges.
Prior to her current role, Ashley made significant contributions as the Digital Engagement Manager at The Brookings Institution, further honing her skills in digital strategy and audience engagement techniques. She also contributed as the Social Media Editor, where she was instrumental in curating content that resonated with diverse audiences, improving the institution's visibility, and ensuring that its digital voice remained impactful across platforms. This extensive experience at one of the country's leading think tanks has positioned Ashley as a thought leader in the domain of digital communications.
Ashley began her career with foundational roles that provided her with the analytics and communications expertise required in a fast-paced digital landscape. She served as an Online Campaign Specialist at the Service Employees International Union, teaming up with advocacy campaigns that aimed to elevate workers' rights and social justice issues. This role not only fueled her passion for grassroots activism but also equipped her with the skills necessary to navigate complex political environments and utilize digital tools effectively.
In her earlier roles, including working with Friends of Terry McAuliffe as a New Media Team Member and as an Account Representative at MSHC Partners, Ashley continuously built her reputation for excellence in digital engagement. These positions allowed her to collaborate with political campaigns and contribute to online fundraising strategies that maximized digital support. Her foundational role as an Assistant Analyst at The Feldman Group and Operations Assistant at Trust for Architectural Easements equipped her with the analytical skills and operational knowledge needed to thrive in high-stakes environments.
Education and Achievements
Ashley’s academic journey is commendable and has laid the groundwork for her successful career in communication and political science. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Syracuse University, where she developed a keen understanding of political theory and governance, which would later inform her work in digital engagement and public discourse. To further enhance her capabilities, she earned her Master of Professional Studies in Communications from The George Washington University. This advanced degree provided her with critical insights and modern strategies in media relations, communication theory, and digital engagement, all of which are essential in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Additionally, Ashley broadened her horizons by participating in the Syracuse University London Division of International Programs Abroad. This experience provided her with an international perspective on political communication and further enriched her understanding of how cultural contexts influence public engagement. Such experiences have allowed Ashley to approach digital communication with a unique global lens, recognizing the diverse audiences her work must reach.
Achievements
Throughout her career, Ashley Wood Schelling has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, creativity, and a commitment to public service. Her work has significantly impacted how organizations use digital communications to engage with constituents and stakeholders alike. Noteworthy achievements include:
- Pioneering innovative digital engagement strategies at The Brookings Institution that have significantly increased audience interaction through social media and other online platforms.
- spearheading high-profile online campaigns while at the Service Employees International Union, effectively utilizing social media to advocate for labor rights and mobilize grassroots support.
- Developing strategic communication initiatives that capitalize on emerging trends in digital media, as evidenced by her role as Digital Engagement Manager.
- Contributing to the growth and visibility of political campaigns through effective engagement tactics during her tenure with Friends of Terry McAuliffe.
Ashley Wood Schelling's multifaceted background in digital engagement and communications, paired with her educational achievements and passion for advocacy and public service, highlight her as a prominent figure in the field. With a proven track record of successful digital storytelling, her career is a testament to the power of digital media in shaping public discourse and influencing policy.
Creating engaging content for various audiences has been a hallmark of Ashley’s career, and her expertise in understanding audience analytics complements her strategic vision. She effectively harnesses the digital landscape to foster community dialogues and drive the conversations necessary for informed governance.
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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
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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.