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Eric Schinfeld
Sr. Manager Federal and International Government Relations at Port of Seattle
Eric Schinfeld is a seasoned professional with a wealth of experience in public policy, government relations, and community engagement.
He holds a Master's in Public Administration from the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington, complemented by a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) and Theater from the University of Pennsylvania.
Eric has held key positions in various esteemed organizations, including being the Sr. Manager of Federal and International Government Relations at the Port of Seattle, Chief of Staff & Executive Vice President at the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and Federal Policy Director at the same Chamber.
His leadership roles extend to the Washington Council on International Trade where he served as President, the Puget Sound Regional Council as the Program Manager for Economic Development, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle as a Campaign Coordinator.
Eric also brought his expertise to Shunpike as the Executive Director and to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Legislative Assistant/Director of Operations.
Highlights
Do you want to save the world? Do you want to save your soul? Who will save your soul if you don't save your own? That last question was asked by four time (!!) Grammy Award nominee Jewel, who - as you might remember - grew up in Alaska, which - as you might know - is connected to the Puget Sound region through the Port of Seattle's cruise, cargo and airport businesses. Speaking of the Port of Seattle, the most important question in this post is: do you want to work at the Port of Seattle as our Senior Program Manager of Maritime Environmental Engagement?
I know you do! Actually, to be honest, I don't know if you do. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking. In fact, I'm quite sure that many of you aren't interested. Or that some of you are interested but totally unqualified (although I'm sure you have many other wonderful qualities).
The point is, you can save the world, your soul, and the residents of near-Port communities proximate to our maritime operations by taking this great job! (Not that near-Port residents need "saving"...this post implies no legal liability by the Port of Seattle or any of its tenants...it was merely a "clever" reference to that Jewel song. It was either that or a Soul Asylum reference, and nobody needs to hear Runaway Train again...although I could have done a freight train/Port of Seattle riff...not that there are any runaway freight trains leaving from Port facilities! Again, no legal liability implied.) Anyhoo...
As I was saying, the last person who held this role - the amazing Christina Billingsley - helped create the nationally and internationally renowned Duwamish Valley Community Equity Program and opened our Duwamish Community Hub building in South Park (the neighborhood, not the cartoon). It works closely with our amazing group of Port Community Action Team members, and helps to enhance the Port's sustainability, equity, and workforce development efforts (particularly green jobs) in these communities. So, regardless of the current status of your soul, it's a great gig.
In conclusion, please apply for this job (if you want to and you're qualified), and I'll go write a song called "Who Will Save Your Sole" about the essential role that the Port of Seattle plays in homeporting the Alaska fishing fleet! It will be a jewel of a ditty.
So, I’ve been the Interim Chief of Staff to the Executive Director of the Port for the last 10.5 months. Which is a job I don’t want. But YOU should totally apply!!
Now, you may be saying to yourself, “Eric, if it’s such a great job, then why don’t you want the permanent gig?” To which I would say “Mind your own beeswax.” Which is a phrase that people use to avoid saying the word “business” which is weird because it’s not like trying to avoid cursing by saying “H-E-Double Hockey Sticks”. As a side note, I went to a costume New Year’s party one year at Consolidated Works (of blessed memory) dressed as H-E-Double Hockey Sticks, with two hockey sticks in my hands, which was funny but challenging for alcohol consumption. My general theory is that people use “beeswax” because they’re worried that if they say “mind your own business” then people will start singing “It’s Business Time” by Flight of the Conchords, which was amusing the first thousand times but now I could do without. Not to be confused with the very strange “It’s Time for Business” video that the Seattle Chamber made, full of cameos from such luminaries as Governor Christine Gregoire: https://lnkd.in/g2tYKGBp. Not to be confused with Courtney Gregoire, who was a Port Commissioner, and so we’ve come full circle!
Wait, where was I? Oh yes, the Port is a great place to work, Executive Director Metruck is a great guy to Chief of Staff for, and you get to engage in all sorts of amazing organizational, management, and policy issues/decisions/projects/initiatives. And, while we don’t make beeswax at the Port (although we probably move beeswax cargo through our aviation and maritime gateway), we do raise bees on the airfield and partner with a local nonprofit to jar and sell the honey! So, we’ve got that going for us, which is good.
https://lnkd.in/gzm2Atps
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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:
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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.