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Kathleen Janus
Senior Advisor on Social Innovation at Office of Governor Gavin Newsom
Professional Background
Kathleen Kelly Janus is a distinguished figure in the realm of social innovation, serving as the Senior Advisor on Social Innovation to California Governor Gavin Newsom. With a robust background as a social entrepreneur, Janus has made significant contributions to the fields of philanthropy and millennial engagement. Her fascinating journey has been marked by her role as an author and lecturer at Stanford University, where she shares her expertise with the next generation of leaders and changemakers. Notably, her insightful writings and projects have garnered attention from prominent media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Huffington Post, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Janus is particularly renowned for her book, "Social Startup Success: How the Best Nonprofits Launch, Scale Up and Make a Difference." This work, which stems from a comprehensive five-year research initiative, serves as a definitive guide for early-stage nonprofit organizations looking to create a substantial impact. By conducting interviews with hundreds of social innovators, Janus provides invaluable insights and practical advice, making her a trusted resource in the nonprofit sector.
Education and Achievements
Kathleen Janus's academic journey laid a strong foundation for her successful career in social innovation and entrepreneurship. She is an alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned her degree in Political Science in 2000. Janus continued her education at the prestigious UC Berkeley School of Law, further enhancing her understanding of the legal frameworks that govern nonprofit organizations and philanthropy.
Throughout her career, Janus has held numerous influential positions that have allowed her to develop her expertise. Prior to her current role, she served as the Pro Bono Manager at the prominent law firm Covington & Burling and as a Clinical Lecturer at Stanford Law School's International Human Rights Clinic. These experiences not only bolstered her legal acumen but also deepened her commitment to social justice and humanitarian issues.
Additionally, Janus worked as an Associate at Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner, where she further honed her skills in legal practice and advocacy. Her multifaceted background equips her with a unique perspective on the intersection of law, policy, and social impact.
Notable Contributions
Kathleen Janus is recognized for her dedication to fostering innovative solutions to societal challenges. As Senior Advisor on Social Innovation, she collaborates with government officials and organizations to develop programs that enhance community engagement and improve the efficacy of nonprofit initiatives. Her insights into millennial engagement have proven particularly beneficial in cultivating a new generation of philanthropists and changemakers who are passionate about making a positive impact on society.
Moreover, her role as a lecturer at Stanford University allows her to inspire students and equip them with the tools necessary to navigate the complex landscape of social entrepreneurship. Through her teachings and mentorship, Janus plays an integral role in shaping future leaders, empowering them to take on pressing social issues with confidence and creativity.
Her book, "Social Startup Success," stands as a testament to her commitment to advancing nonprofit effectiveness. The book is not only a resource for nonprofit professionals but also a beacon of hope for aspiring innovators seeking to drive change. Janus's work continues to resonate within the nonprofit sector, solidifying her status as a leading expert and advocate for social innovation.
In conclusion, Kathleen Kelly Janus exemplifies the spirit of social entrepreneurship and innovation. Through her extensive experience, educational achievements, and notable contributions, she has made a profound impact on the nonprofit landscape. Her ongoing efforts to empower individuals and organizations to scale their missions effectively showcases her unwavering dedication to creating a better world.
Highlights
I'm beyond excited to share my upcoming LIVE workshop with Stanford Social Innovation Review on September 26! In this hands-on workshop, "A Guide to Government Partnership: Learn to Master Scaling," I'll join SSIR editor Marcie Bianco to take a deep dive into making an impact through partnerships.
We'll get into how to:
💡 Identify opportunities for partnership; 💡 Build a powerful network of collaborators; 💡 Set your organization up for success and bring those amazing public-private partnerships to life; and so much more!
Learn more and sign up for the #SSIRLive! workshop today: https://lnkd.in/gsj2wD6n
This workshop was inspired by my latest piece in SSIR, which you can read here: https://lnkd.in/gFD8s93S
Excited to see you all online on September 26!
What a huge treat to get to attend Governor Gavin Newsom's 2024 State of California Philanthropy Summit last week. I could not be more impressed with the leadership of my amazing successor Senior Advisor on Social Innovation Elena Chavez Quezada as she convened over 100 philanthropic and state leaders in Sacramento to advance public-private partnerships on climate and economic development. So many incredible takeaways from the event, but a few highlights for me:
In a panel on the California climate transition, Manuel Pastor presented the idea of investing in power-building as a way to move from community benefits to community dividends in energy communities. On that note, Secretary Wade Crowfoot pointed out that 10 years ago justice, equity and inclusion were conversations separate from climate resilience, and we can now celebrate that those conversations are connected in large part because of philanthropy’s deep investments in power-building. Secretary Christina Snider-Ashtari reminded us that we cannot forget the importance of having indigenous voices at the table at every stage of the planning process, not simply as an afterthought. And, as we build new climate resilient economies in California Ann Rogan encouraged us to think of “civic infrastructure as a place to unlock imagination,” in that process.
It was so great to reconnect with so many philanthropic leaders that have been in the trenches with us over the past several years, building the infrastructure for public-private partnerships that have had so much impact in the lives of Californians. Looking forward to all of the impact we will create together in the year ahead!
And hats off to the Freedman Consulting, LLC team (Talya Karr, Martha Mendoza, Carly Cramer, Bridget Brown, Isabella Gelfand) that worked so hard behind the scenes to make this happen!
Kim Pattillo Brownson, Nina Revoyr, Max Espinoza, Debbie Chang, Xavier de Souza Briggs, Sandra R. Hernández, M.D., Megan Thomas, Ashley Swearengin, Ann Rogan, Lenny Mendonca, Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, Dwayne Marsh, Anmol Chaddha, Moses Zapien, Chet P. Hewitt, Kaying Hang, Richard Tate, Don Howard, Amy Saxton, Tomiquia Moss, Stewart Knox, Lynn von Koch-Liebert, Ben Chida, Joe Shea
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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:
- 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.