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Gloria Greiner-Callihan
Associate Dean of Development and Alumni Affairs--School of Dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University
Professional Background
Gloria Greiner-Callihan is an accomplished Associate Dean with extensive experience in the higher education sector, particularly within the realm of development and alumni affairs. Throughout her career, Gloria has successfully held significant roles that have equipped her with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in nonprofit organizations, budgeting, volunteer management, public speaking, and annual fundraising. Her commitment to fostering meaningful relationships between educational institutions and their alumni underlines her effectiveness as a development professional.
Gloria currently serves as the Associate Dean of Development and Alumni Affairs at the School of Dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Here, she leverages her extensive experience in development practices to enhance alumni engagement and secure support for essential programs. Prior to this esteemed role, she served as the Associate Dean at VCU School of Dentistry, where her leadership and vision helped advance the institution’s goals in fundraising and alumni relations.
In addition to her role at VCU, Gloria has held several notable positions, including Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor of Development and Alumni Affairs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Assistant Vice Chancellor of Development at UTHSC. Her work in these roles has contributed to the advancement of the university's mission, ensuring sustainable funding and fostering community involvement.
Through her previous position as a consultant at Fundraising etc, Gloria enriched her understanding of development strategies by working closely with diverse organizations to enhance their fundraising capacities. Her ability to adapt strategies to meet the unique needs of various institutions demonstrates her versatility as a leader in the field.
Gloria's earlier career includes pivotal roles as Director of Development at the Germantown Performing Arts Center and Opera Memphis, where she honed her leadership skills and deepened her understanding of the performing arts fundraising landscape. These experiences have not only contributed to her professional growth but also enabled her to cultivate a passion for the arts and community engagement.
Education and Achievements
Gloria Greiner-Callihan's educational background is as impressive as her professional journey. She possesses a rich academic portfolio that supports her extensive career in higher education and fundraising. Gloria began her academic pursuits with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Chemistry from The University of Texas at El Paso. This foundational knowledge in the sciences laid the groundwork for her analytical skills that she would apply throughout her career.
After her undergraduate study, Gloria earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from The University of Memphis—Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, equipping her with critical insights into the legal landscape surrounding nonprofit organizations, development ethics, and compliance matters. Following her legal studies, she pursued a Master's degree in Philanthropy and Development from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, which solidified her commitment to supporting educational and community-driven initiatives.
In a commitment to further her expertise, Gloria obtained an International Advanced Diploma in Fundraising from the University of Plymouth, with a focus on Fundraising and Development, nonprofit marketing, and donor psychology. This specialized training equips her with a unique perspective on the motivations and behaviors of donors, allowing her to implement effective fundraising strategies tailored to meet their needs and expectations.
Gloria’s educational achievements and professional experience have equipped her with the skills necessary to navigate the complex world of fundraising and nonprofit management efficiently. Her dedication to lifelong learning ensures that she remains a at the forefront of developments in the field.
Achievements
Throughout her career, Gloria has earned recognition for her pivotal contributions to the fields of fundraising and higher education. As Associate Dean of Development and Alumni Affairs at VCU School of Dentistry, her innovative strategies have driven significant improvements in donor engagement, resulting in increased funding for crucial research and educational programs.
Her previous leadership roles at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center stand as testaments to her ability to inspire collaboration across departments and leverage resources effectively. Gloria's work in these capacities contributed significantly to growing development initiatives that had lasting impacts on the institutions and their stakeholders.
Moreover, her tenure as Director of Development at both the Germantown Performing Arts Center and Opera Memphis highlights her commitment to the arts and community engagement. Her efforts not only strengthened operational funding for these dynamic organizations but also cultivated a culture of philanthropy that benefits the wider community.
Gloria's professional journey is marked not just by her positions, but also by the relationships she builds and the positive impact she creates in communities. Her unwavering dedication to education and the arts, along with her comprehensive understanding of the development landscape, positions her as a leader and innovator in the field of fundraising.
In summary, Gloria Greiner-Callihan's professional journey reflects an individual who is deeply committed to advancing educational opportunities and fostering strong connections between institutions and their communities. Through her diverse experiences spanning various sectors of higher education and the performing arts, she has emerged as a thought leader in fundraising and development, paving the way for future generations of leaders in the industry.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.