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Michael McFarland
President at GREGORIAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION, INC.
Professional Background
Michael McFarland’s career is a remarkable blend of academia, spirituality, and ethics that showcases his multifaceted expertise. With an impressive academic foundation that began with a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the prestigious Cornell University in 1969, Michael’s passion for knowledge propelled him to further his studies in electrical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned both a master’s degree in 1978 and a Ph.D. in 1981, specializing in computer engineering.
After acquiring valuable experience working closely with Native American communities in the Southwest for five years, Michael embraced a calling to spiritual service by entering the Society of Jesus in 1975. This commitment led him to the Weston School of Theology, where he furthered his education in divinity, culminating in a master’s degree and a Th.M. in social ethics, preparing him for a path grounded in both faith and reason. He was ordained as a priest in 1984, marking a significant milestone in his life dedicated to service and leadership within the community.
Michael began his professional journey as a consultant at AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he utilized his technical expertise to make substantial contributions. Concurrently, he served as an associate professor of computer science at Boston College for a decade, where he engaged in extensive teaching, research, writing, and speaking, especially in the critical domain of computer ethics. His work not only educated students but also shaped dialogues around the ethical implications of technology in society.
In 1996, Michael transitioned to a leadership role as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. His tenure there laid a strong foundation for his subsequent role as President of the College of the Holy Cross, a position he held until January 2012. During his presidency at Holy Cross, he played a vital role in founding the Nativity School of Worcester, serving as the first board chair and demonstrating his commitment to education and community service.
Following a sabbatical at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, where he helped establish a pioneering program in Internet Ethics, Michael took on the important role of Treasurer of the USA Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus. His responsibilities included overseeing finances, investments, property management, and health care benefits for approximately 500 Jesuits, a task requiring a deft balance of business acumen and ethical consideration.
In January 2020, Michael embarked on a new chapter in his career as the President of the Gregorian University Foundation. In this role, he is dedicated to raising funds to support the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Biblical Institute, and the Pontifical Oriental Institute—prestigious Jesuit institutions in Rome. The foundation under his leadership plays a crucial role in educating and forming seminarians, priests, and lay leaders to become discerning servant leaders in the Church.
Education and Achievements
Michael McFarland’s educational journey is characterized by a rigorous pursuit of knowledge and a commitment to applying his learning in both technological and spiritual realms. His studies at Cornell University laid the groundwork for a lifelong commitment to understanding complex systems, both in science and ethics.
At Carnegie Mellon University, Michael honed his expertise in electrical and computer engineering, where his doctoral research contributed to the understanding of computing systems—an area that remains at the forefront of modern technology and ethics. His theological education at the Weston School of Theology complements his technical background, enabling him to address ethical dilemmas from a well-rounded perspective that incorporates faith, reason, and social responsibility.
His achievements as a leader and educator are evidenced by his impactful roles at various institutions, where he has influenced countless students and faculty alike. As a director at the Gregorian University Foundation, he has positioned the organization to raise essential funds that empower educational programs rooted in the Jesuit tradition.
Achievements
- Earned a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Cornell University, laying a foundation for his technical acumen.
- Attained advanced degrees in electrical and computer engineering, including a Ph.D., from Carnegie Mellon University, underscoring his commitment to academia and technology.
- Became a Jesuit priest and completed advanced theological studies, emphasizing a unique blend of faith and ethics.
- Served as a consultant at AT&T Bell Laboratories, contributing to advancements in technology and computer science.
- Held a decade-long position as an associate professor at Boston College, significantly impacting the field of computer ethics through teaching and research.
- Led as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Gonzaga University, fostering academic excellence and community engagement.
- Assumed the role of President at the College of the Holy Cross, playing a key role in founding and supporting initiatives like the Nativity School of Worcester.
- Contributed to the establishment of the Internet Ethics program while on sabbatical at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, acknowledging the growing importance of ethics in the digital age.
- As Treasurer for the USA Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus, managed vital resources for the Jesuit community.
- Currently serves as the President of the Gregorian University Foundation, raising funds to support Jesuit educational institutions in Rome and forming future leaders in service to the Church.
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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
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- 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.
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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.