Suggestions
Julia Koskella
Associate at SYSTEMIQ, a pioneering sustainability advisory and investment B-Corp founded by ex-McKinsey partners.
Professional Background
Julia Koskella is an accomplished environmentalist and researcher with a robust academic foundation and diverse professional experience in sustainability and climate change management. With a career spanning numerous prestigious organizations, Julia has focused her efforts on developing innovative solutions to address environmental challenges and promote sustainable practices. Her journey began with a strong educational background, highlighted by an impressive performance in the International Baccalaureate program at Sevenoaks School, where she achieved 43 out of a possible 45 points with a focus on Higher Level Maths, Chemistry, and Spanish. This dual foundation in the sciences and languages paved the way for her further studies at the renowned University of Oxford.
At Oxford, Julia completed her BA in Human Sciences with Distinction, followed by a Master of Science (MSc) in Environmental Change and Management. Throughout her time at the university, she not only honed her academic skills but also developed her passion for researching social and environmental issues, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between human activities and environmental sustainability. Julia's education was further enriched by her time at Ecole Active Bilingue Jeannine Manuel in Paris, where she was immersed in a multilingual and multicultural environment, enhancing her linguistic and cultural fluency.
Julia has blended her academic prowess with practical experience in various capacities, each role contributing uniquely to her career trajectory. She is currently an Associate at SYSTEMIQ Ltd., where she applies her insights to facilitate systemic changes towards more sustainable economies. In her previous role as Researcher-in-residence at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Julia focused on circular economy concepts, emphasizing her commitment to creating sustainable systems that reduce waste and promote resource efficiency. Her work has not only provided her with valuable insights into global environmental challenges but has also enabled her to collaborate with leaders across sectors, fostering partnerships aimed at promoting sustainable practices on a global scale.
Julia's entrepreneurial spirit is evident in her founding of Find Space, an initiative dedicated to harnessing technology for environmental solutions. This venture reflects her innovative approach to integrating sustainability into various sectors. Additionally, her experience as a Consultant at Toast Ale Ltd., a company that produces beer using surplus bread, showcases her ability to engage in projects that challenge traditional business models and contribute positively to society by reducing food waste.
Earlier in her career, Julia excelled as the Venture & Fellowship Manager at Ashoka, where she nurtured social entrepreneurs and supported innovative ventures aimed at addressing societal challenges through systemic change. Her operational skills were further developed during her time at GlobalGiving UK, where she was deeply involved in enhancing operational efficiencies for community-driven projects. Julia's commitment to social impact is also evident from her internship at Fundación Pachamama, where she gained grassroots experience in sustainable development initiatives.
A dedicated athlete, Julia has even taken time to work as a Snowboard Instructor at Stratton Mountain Resort, emphasizing her well-rounded persona that balances scientific pursuits with personal passions. Engaging in sports has not only contributed to her personal development but has also provided her with essential skills in teamwork and leadership.
In the early stages of her career, Julia gained invaluable insights into communications and research as an Analyst Intern at Climate Outreach and Information Network, where she contributed to projects aimed at increasing public engagement on climate change. She also founded the Oxford Climate Forum, which serves as a platform for dialogue among scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers in the field of climate change, establishing her as a leader in fostering discussions on pressing environmental issues.
Education and Achievements
Julia Koskella's educational journey has laid a strong foundation for her professional achievements. Her distinguished performance in the International Baccalaureate program at Sevenoaks School highlights her dedication to academic excellence, scoring an outstanding 43 out of 45. At the University of Oxford, she completed her BA in Human Sciences with Distinction, emphasizing her commitment to understanding the complex relationship between people and the environment. Following this, she pursued a Master of Science (MSc) in Environmental Change and Management, where she engaged deeply with issues surrounding environmental sustainability and policy.
Julia's educational achievements position her as an expert in her field, well-equipped to tackle some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Her time at Ecole Active Bilingue Jeannine Manuel also fosters her ability to adapt her communication style within diverse cultural contexts, complementing her academic successes.
Achievements
- Achieved an impressive 43 out of 45 points in the International Baccalaureate Diploma program at Sevenoaks School.
- Earned a Distinction in her BA in Human Sciences from the University of Oxford.
- Completed a Master of Science in Environmental Change and Management at the prestigious University of Oxford, specializing in sustainability practices.
- Worked as an Associate at SYSTEMIQ Ltd., contributing significantly to projects focused on systemic sustainability transformations.
- Served as a Researcher-in-residence at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, aiding in the development of circular economy models.
- Founded Find Space, showcasing entrepreneurship in the environmental sector.
- Contributed to reducing food waste through her consulting role at Toast Ale Ltd.
- Played a pivotal role in supporting social enterprises as the Venture & Fellowship Manager at Ashoka.
- Enhanced the effectiveness of community projects while at GlobalGiving UK.
- Engaged in grassroots environmental initiatives as an intern with Fundación Pachamama.
- Fostered dialogue on climate change by founding the Oxford Climate Forum.
- Developed leadership skills as a Snowboard Instructor, highlighting her versatility and ability to engage on multiple levels.
Julia Koskella exemplifies commitment, innovation, and leadership in the field of environmental sustainability. As she continues to advance her career, her impressive background, coupled with a passion for making a meaningful impact, positions her as a notable figure in the ongoing conversation about environmental change and sustainable practices.
People also viewed
Related People
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:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- 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.