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Summer Howarth
Founder @ The Eventful Learning Co. - Learner Experience Designer - Facilitator - Strategist - Paul Harris Fellow - Educator Hot List - TEDx - Melbourne Young Entrepreneur Finalist 2019 & 2021
Professional Background
Summer Howarth is a well-respected figure in the field of education, known for her unwavering commitment to enhancing educational experiences through innovative learning methods. With a profound passion for empowering educators, Summer has dedicated her career to supporting teachers and students in achieving meaningful learning outcomes. Her work has spanned various facets of the education sector—from K-12 schools to universities and governmental organizations—making her a versatile leader in education.
One of Summer's significant contributions has been her involvement in Australia’s engagement with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) regarding student engagement. She has also played a pivotal role in inspiring and leading the TeachMeet movement across Australia, promoting the sharing of teaching practices among educators. Her systemic approach emphasizes creating profound professional learning experiences, ultimately benefiting the learning journey of students.
With a wealth of experience working in various educational roles, Summer has garnered a reputation as a strategic thinker who can adapt to dynamic learning environments. Her success in unleashing teacher-led innovations has earned her recognition on multiple occasions, including being named on The Educator Annual Hotlist three times, which honors individuals making significant contributions to the education sector.
Summer is also a sought-after advisor to the Global Educator Task Force to the UN on Sustainable Development Goals and is a member of The Hundred Global Innovations selection panel. Her leadership in education is further exemplified by the induction of a Paul Harris Fellowship for her significant contributions to education, reflecting her commitment to making a difference in the lives of learners and educators alike.
Education and Achievements
Summer Howarth's educational journey shines a light on her profound commitment to learning. She completed her Higher School Certificate at St Andrew's Cathedral School before pursuing a versatile academic path at renowned institutions in Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education, focusing on Education, Geography, and History, and a Master of Science in Geographical Education from Macquarie University, further enhancing her expertise in education and pedagogical strategies.
Throughout her career, Summer has held various influential positions in multiple organizations, demonstrating her ability to lead and innovate. As the founder and learning designer at The Eventful Learning Co., she collaborates with teachers, community leaders, and educational executives to design impactful learning engagements and innovation strategies.
Her past roles include serving on the National Advisory Council for Be You at Beyond Blue, where she advocated for mental health in education, and being part of the Board of Directors at Little Dreamers Australia, helping support young people in need. Summer has also served as a Director of Learning & Event Design at Education Changemakers, where she contributed to transformational education initiatives.
As a Senior Project Officer at the Australian Institute for Teaching & School Leadership, she played a crucial role in enhancing teaching standards. Summer's experience as a sessional academic at the University of Sydney enriches her practical insights into higher education, further bridging the gap between theory and practice in learning environments.
Her expertise also includes a wealth of experience as a lead teacher and year coordinator at various esteemed institutions in Australia. She has held the position of Geography Teacher at Presbyterian Ladies College, Sydney, and Middle School Year Coordinator and Geography Teacher at Ravenswood School for Girls. Her dedication to teaching, combined with her strategic approach to learning design, sets Summer apart as a leading figure in educational development.
Achievements
Summer's professional journey is marked by numerous notable achievements that reflect her dedication to education and transformative practice. Her extensive involvement in organizations and initiatives showcases her relentless pursuit of improving educational outcomes. Here are some highlights of her achievements:
- Recognition by The Educator: Named on The Educator Annual Hotlist three times, an indication of her impactful work and recognition within the education community.
- Global Advisory Roles: Serves on the Global Educator Task Force to the UN, contributing her insights to discussions surrounding Sustainable Development Goals, thereby influencing global education policies.
- Paul Harris Fellowship: Awarded for her exemplary service to education, reflecting her commitment to making a meaningful impact within educational circles.
- Innovative Leadership: Founder of The Eventful Learning Co., Summer designs engaging learning experiences that meet t
Highlights
I am thrilled to share the latest Centre for Strategic Education x Google for Education paper co-authored with my brilliant friend John Cleary. Our paper reflects the brain and heart we poured into capturing the theory and design behind the NTLC to inform the bigger direction of 'Beyond Voice: Students as Partners in Improvement'.
Yesterday, a collection of great systems & school leaders came together online to dive a bit deeper into the paper, where we learned that the core principles are already being applied in so many places, inspiring action in schools across Australia and places as far and fab as Kenya.
From its early days in Katherine with 5 schools to now impacting 23,000 students across the Northern Territory, this work showcases the power of true partnership in learning in all its definitions. Our paper takes readers on a journey highlighting the cadence and consistency needed for these partnerships to thrive.
This paper doesn't explicitly tell them, but it encapsulates the countless stories and experiences, it has the essence of thr heartfelt dedication of students, educators, leaders, and policymakers in its narrative. It wraps a really tangible, clever framework around this work, which is the core of John's research and studies. I am so proud of my friend for his dedication to capturing the theory behind the practice.
John Cleary, thank you for your unwavering vision and the absolute fun we continue to have in making the Learning Commission come to life in some of the most beautiful places in the country (and, as we are learning...the world! ) Alongside a collection of really fabulous partners who are or have been part of this work (Susannah Schoeffel Cleo Westhorpe Tessa Fondacaro @Damien O'Brien, Chris Harte Dr Tanya Vaughan, Vicki Baylis Karen Weston, Hannah Zwitser, Caitlin Donnelly, Aderyn Chatterton and a million more!) we are demonstrating that real work takes time and that by sharing power and leaning into what's possible, we can indeed change the DNA of our profession.
Check out the paper (and Jessamy Gee's beautiful capture and sidebar, she's teaching sketch noting to every NTLC student too) as we celebrate this milestone in what continues to be "the long journey". I am looking forward to more stories, more learning, and more impact with students as partners in improving learning in my work and your work, too!
https://lnkd.in/ghZgDQ-J
This is a really fantastic piece that is bouncing around social and inboxes right now; and rightly so! MASSIVE congrats to my old pal Kristina Ishmael and your team for developing this wildly fantastic resource.
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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.