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Edward Montgomery
President at Western Michigan University
Professional Background
Edward Montgomery is a highly respected labor economist and an influential figure in public policy and economic development, currently serving as the president of Western Michigan University (WMU). Over the years, he has significantly impacted labor economics and policy through his various leadership roles within the federal government and academia. His career spans several decades, marked by his contributions to both the Clinton and Obama administrations, where his expertise in economic policy was pivotal to numerous initiatives.
During the Obama administration, Montgomery was recognized as a key player in managing the U.S. automotive industry’s recovery following the economic downturn. He was appointed as a member of the president's auto task force, where he directed efforts to stabilize and revitalize auto manufacturing sectors, significantly impacting communities reliant on this industry. National media often referred to him as the "Auto Czar," underscoring the importance of his role in formulating strategies aimed at fostering growth and sustainability in auto communities and industries.
Prior to his significant roles in Washington, Montgomery served as an economist in various capacities within the Department of Labor during the Clinton administration. His positions included chief economist, counselor, assistant secretary, and finally, deputy secretary of labor, overseeing one of the largest federal departments responsible for workforce programs and policy. His leadership during this period contributed to advancing labor standards and compliance frameworks across various industries.
Montgomery is also deeply entrenched in academia, having held prestigious faculty positions at Michigan State University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Maryland. Notably, he served as the founding dean and professor of economics at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, where he influenced the curriculum and guided emerging leaders in public policy.
Education and Achievements
Montgomery’s academic journey is one of distinguished excellence. He earned his bachelor's degree in economics with honors from Pennsylvania State University, showcasing a solid foundation in economic principles. He further advanced his education by obtaining both a master’s and Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, which positioned him at the forefront of economic research and analysis.
Recognized for his scholarly contributions, Montgomery was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019. This prestigious organization honors leaders across various fields, showcasing his impact not only in the realm of economics but also in public policy, arts, and science. Furthermore, his induction as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2011 speaks to his sustained dedication to enhancing public service performance through effective governance and policy analysis.
Montgomery’s research concentrates on critical aspects of economics, including state and local economic growth, wage and pension determination, productivity, savings behavior, and the dynamics of social insurance programs. His role as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) for more than 20 years highlights his commitment to advancing economic understanding and policy effectiveness. Additionally, he has been a fellow at Stanford University’s Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality since 2006, where his research has contributed to discussions on tackling economic disparities.
Contributions and Impact
Throughout his robust career, Montgomery has made substantial contributions to the discourse surrounding labor economics and public policy. He serves on the board of directors of the Center for Law and Social Policy, where he influences policy aimed at improving economic mobility and reducing poverty. His involvement with the Committee on Economic Statistics for the American Economic Association reinforces his commitment to providing relevant and actionable insights into economic policies and trends.
Montgomery's extensive experience in both public service and academia exemplifies his belief in empowering communities through sustainable economic practices and policies. His positions in various organizations have allowed him to shape meaningful initiatives aimed at enhancing workforce policies, improving economic conditions, and fostering a deeper understanding of labor dynamics in changing economic landscapes.
In leading WMU, Montgomery is dedicated to upholding the university’s mission of academic excellence and community engagement while fostering innovation and inclusivity within higher education. His vision as a university president is to integrate economic knowledge into educational practices, benefitting students and the communities they serve. Under his leadership, WMU has the potential to broaden its outreach and further establish itself as a leader in comprehensive educational programs that address contemporary labor and economic challenges.
Conclusion
Edward Montgomery is a renowned scholar and leader whose contributions to labor economics and public policy have left an indelible mark on national and local communities. His extensive experience, combined with his academic achievements and dedication to enhancing economic practices, positions him as a pivotal figure in addressing future challenges in economics and public policy. As he continues to lead Western Michigan University, his vision and expertise will undoubtedly shape the next generation of leaders equipped to navigate the complexities of today’s economic climate.
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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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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- 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.