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Dave Algoso
Managing Director at Economic Security Project
Dave Algoso is the Managing Director at Economic Security Project, a role he has held since November 2023.1 He is based in Brooklyn, New York, and has a diverse background in policy, organizing, and social change strategy.
Career Highlights
Dave's career journey has been nonlinear, spanning various sectors and roles:
- Early Career: He began by writing policy papers on global warming and organizing local campaigns for democracy reforms across the United States.1
- Consulting: From 2015 to 2023, he ran his own consulting practice called Open CoLab, focusing on social change strategy.1
- Academic Involvement: He is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.1
- Previous Roles: Dave has held positions such as Managing Director at Reboot, Program Manager at Mercy Corps, and State Field Organizer at Common Cause.1
Expertise and Accomplishments
Dave's work centers on the idea that durable change comes from shifting power through collective action. Some of his notable achievements include:
- Organizing coalitions for state-level campaigns on redistricting and campaign finance reform
- Leading global initiatives to protect civic space and counter authoritarianism
- Advising universities on increasing faculty diversity and inclusion
- Facilitating workshops and collaborations with anticorruption reformers globally
- Designing methodologies for improving adaptive management in international development
Education
- MPA in International Policy and Management from NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
- Bachelor's degree in Physics, Philosophy, and Math from the University of Virginia1
Additional Roles
- Board Member at Feedback Labs (since May 2023)
- Guest Lecturer at NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service1
Dave Algoso is also known for his writing and public engagement on topics related to social change strategy, management, and global development.2
Highlights
I did over 40 informational interviews in about three weeks. And I wasn't even job searching.
We were hiring for two roles on my team. I'd only been at the Economic Security Project for a few months, so my own job search was fresh in my memory. I remembered what it was like to be a candidate. I remembered the detective work and guessing game involved in job applications.
Have you been through this? You see a job posting that describes the organization, role responsibilities, and qualifications. You read every line thoroughly and carefully. And then you read between the lines. You try to figure out what this team is really like, what they're really looking for, and what they left unsaid in the job posting—all so you can better frame your application and better answer interview questions (plus decide if you want the role).
This positioning is so much easier if you know the organization. That gives an advantage to anyone who's partnered with them in the past or who knows someone who's worked there. Anyone who doesn't know the organization is left playing the guessing game, which is a game of chance. You roll the dice and if you guess wrong, your chance of getting hired goes down.
The traditional hiring view was always: who cares? We want candidates who "get us" so it's actually better to filter folks out like this.
But I think most of us now realize how this biases the selection process. We're more likely to hire from the same networks, from the same grad schools, from the same overrepresented demographics, from the same cities.
So I opened up my calendar. I couldn't solve the guessing game for every person who applied (we had hundreds of candidates across both roles!) but what we could do is cast a wide net for the initial phone screens and then offer informational interviews to every candidate invited for the phone screen. We sent them a calendly link so they could book time with me, as the hiring manager. We made it clear that I wouldn't look at their applications or ask them questions: instead, this would be their time to ask me questions, so they could be better prepared for their phone screen with the recruiter and better position themselves in that conversation, with a little bit less of the guessing game.
This had two results. First, it absolutely destroyed my calendar for a few weeks. It chopped up my schedule, with sometimes four or five of these in a day. But more importantly—though harder to measure—I think it really did expand our pool in the second and third rounds.
This practice is a small drop against the societal inequities that get amplified in our hiring processes, but if your organization's mission has anything to do with addressing those inequities, then in my experience this is well worth a few hours of your time.
Very excited to be in Detroit today for Guaranteed Income Now hosted by Economic Security Project and Community Change - with an opening welcome from the inimitable Dorian Warren.
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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.
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