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Amanda Holton
Amanda Brindley Holton Lecturer Associate Professor or Teaching. at University of California, Irvine
Professional Background
Amanda Holton is a dedicated and passionate Associate Professor of Teaching at the University of California, Irvine, where she specializes in enhancing students’ educational experiences through innovative teaching methodologies. Her extensive background in biophysical chemistry provides a strong foundation for her teaching and research, which primarily focuses on integrating technology with traditional classroom settings. Amanda is known for her expertise in flipped classroom instruction, particularly with large classes that can exceed 350 students. This progressive teaching method allows students to learn at their own pace, fostering a more interactive and engaging classroom environment.
In addition to her role at UC Irvine, Amanda serves as the chemistry department representative for the CalTeach program. This initiative aims to bridge the gap between STEM education and teaching for grades 9-12, and she teaches an inquiry-based course titled “Research Methods” which is geared towards STEM majors who are interested in pursuing teaching careers. Her commitment to both teaching and mentorship reflects her passion for developing the next generation of educators.
Amanda’s professional journey is marked by her impressive record of contributions to the field of education and chemistry. She is actively involved in the development and implementation of online courses designed for cross-campus usage, striving to maintain high educational standards in both online and traditional learning environments. Amanda’s background and experiences uniquely position her as a leader in educational innovation, using her knowledge of pedagogy and technology to transform learning in significant ways.
Education and Achievements
Amanda Holton holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Biophysical Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine, which she pursued with a focus on understanding complex chemical processes and their applications in teaching. Prior to that, she earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in both Chemistry and Biology from Saginaw Valley State University. Her educational background has equipped her with a robust understanding of scientific concepts, which she skillfully translates into her teaching methods.
Throughout her academic and professional career, Amanda has contributed to various research papers that delve into the effectiveness of innovative teaching strategies and the chemistry of biophysical systems. Notable publications include:
- He, W., Holton, A.J., Farkas, G., Warschauer, M. (2016). The effects of flipped instruction on out-of-class study time, exam performance, and student perceptions. Learning & Instruction, 45, 61-71.
- Brindley AJ, Martin RW. (2012). Effect of divalent cations on DMPC/DHPC bicelle formation and alignment. Langmuir, 28(20), 7788-96. doi: 10.1021/la300885u.
- Shapiro RA, Brindley AJ, Martin RW. (2010). Thermal stabilization of DMPC/DHPC bicelles by addition of cholesterol sulfate. J Am Chem Soc, 132(33), 11406-7. doi: 10.1021/ja1041012.
Achievements
Amanda's commitment to transforming chemistry education through technology is well demonstrated in her teaching practices. She has developed a series of engaging video resources, including traditional lecture videos for courses such as Chem 1A and Chem 1C, and flipped class video podcasts available on platforms like YouTube. This innovative approach aims to enhance students’ learning experiences and is a testament to her dedication to student-centered education.
Through her work with CalTeach, Amanda plays a crucial role in preparing future educators by providing them with research-based instructional strategies that can be applied effectively in real classroom settings. The blend of her scientific acumen and teaching proficiency positions her as an invaluable asset to both her students and the academic community.
Amanda’s ongoing efforts in utilizing technology for improving educational quality have greatly impacted her students' learning outcomes. She emphasizes accessibility and flexibility in education, ensuring that all students receive a high-quality learning experience, whether in-person or online.
Her leadership within the academic community is evident in her collaborative projects and dedication to research that focuses on enhancing instructional methodologies. As a trailblazer in her field, Amanda Holton continues to advocate for effective teaching practices that prioritize student engagement and success, making a lasting impact on the academic landscape at UC Irvine and beyond.
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Clay 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.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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Clay 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, Clay 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 Clay 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 Clay 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.
Clay 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. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay 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.
Clay 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. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay 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. Clay 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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Clay 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. Clay'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.
Clay 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. Clay 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, Clay 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.
Clay 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.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay 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. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay 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 Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay 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, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay 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. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay 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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Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay 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.
Clay'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. Clay 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 Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay'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, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay 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 Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.