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Susan Hills
Senior Acquisitions Editor at ASCD
Professional Background
Susan Hills is a dynamic and passionate publishing professional with extensive experience in book acquisitions, particularly within the K–12 education sector. Her current focus stands prominently on leadership and content relevant to English language learners, areas in which she has developed significant expertise. However, Susan's professional journey encompasses a wide array of specialization, including notable experience in special education, early childhood education, social work, and medical journals. This diverse portfolio reflects her versatility and ability to adapt her skills to meet the unique demands of different educational and publishing sectors.
At ASCD, where Susan serves as a Senior Acquisitions Editor, she has honed her capabilities in market research, proposal formulation, business planning, product development, and developmental editing. These skills not only demonstrate her proficiency in understanding the needs of educators and institutions but also highlight her role in shaping impactful educational content that resonates with diverse audiences.
In her previous positions, Susan has amassed substantial experience in copyediting, project management of both print and digital journals, and Spanish–English translation. Her role as a Freelance Translator adds another dimension to her skill set, enabling her to bridge language barriers and increase the accessibility of educational materials. Susan's work at various prestigious organizations—such as Wolters Kluwer, the National Association of Social Workers, and Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.—further showcases her extensive career and growth within the publishing field.
Having dedicated herself to multiple roles across different organizations, Susan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that benefits her current position and enriches the organizations she collaborates with.
Education and Achievements
Susan Hills has a solid educational foundation, with a Master of Arts (MA) in Hispanic Applied Linguistics from the University of Maryland. This advanced degree equips her with the linguistic proficiency and cultural understanding critical for her work with English language learners. Additionally, her undergraduate studies at the University of Iowa include a Bachelor of Arts (BA) with a dual major in Journalism and History, where she graduated with an outstanding GPA of 3.99. This academic excellence underscores her commitment to learning and her passion for communication and historical context—skills that are essential for a successful career in publishing.
Her academic background complements her professional endeavors, empowering her to engage deeply with the content she curates and develops. By intertwining her linguistic skills with her knowledge of journalism, Susan has positioned herself as a leading figure in the field of educational publishing.
Achievements
Over her distinguished career, Susan has achieved remarkable milestones in publishing. Her role as a Senior Acquisitions Editor has seen her directly influence and transform educational content that empowers teachers and supports student learning. With a focus on K–12 education, she has been instrumental in developing resources that cater to the vital needs of leadership and English language learners, ensuring that the materials are not only educationally sound but also accessible to a broader audience.
Furthermore, her past roles have allowed Susan to engage in comprehensive project management, overseeing various journal projects that further develop her experience. Through these endeavors, she has contributed to the publication of numerous pieces that resonate within the education community, helping educators access valuable resources.
In addition to her work in acquisitions and project management, Susan has also contributed significantly through her translation services, providing essential resources in both Spanish and English. This particular skill highlights her commitment to inclusivity and her understanding of the importance of language diversity in educational settings.
tags':['publishing professional','book acquisitions','K-12 education','leadership','English language learners','market research','proposal development','product development','developmental editing','copyediting','project management','Spanish-English translation','ASCD','University of Maryland','University of Iowa','Freelance Translator','Wolters Kluwer','National Association of Social Workers','Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.','Sunbury Press','G.W. Zouck Publishing','Language Teacher'],'questions':['How did Susan Hills develop her expertise in book acquisitions for K–12 education content?','In what ways has Susan Hills leveraged her dual degree in Journalism and History in her publishing career?','What are some notable projects that Susan Hills managed while working at ASCD?','How has Susan Hills’ background in Hispanic Applied Linguistics influenced her approach
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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:
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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