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Amber Ericksen
Promoting choice & control through collaboration, innovation & a person-centred approach.
Professional Background
Amber Ericksen is a seasoned professional in the disability sector, boasting over 20 years of extensive experience. Specializing in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), behaviors of concern, trauma, and family engagement, Amber has cultivated her expertise through various roles and has consistently demonstrated a commitment to supporting individuals with disabilities. Amber's career is marked by an impressive trajectory, having evolved from entry-level positions to significant leadership roles including Regional Manager at CoAbility - Independent Support Coordination.
Throughout her career, Amber has established her authority and knowledge base by training in a myriad of behavioral support practices aimed at equipping caregivers and families with the skills to manage complex behaviors effectively. Her partnership with government organizations for the development of ASD support groups underlines her collaborative approach to fostering community resources for families dealing with autism.
One of Amber's notable contributions to the disability community is the co-founding of the Yes I Can (All Abilities) Choir in partnership with Play It Forward in 2019. This initiative showcases her passion for inclusivity in the arts, allowing individuals with various abilities to come together through music, fostering joy and community engagement.
With a solid portfolio of leadership roles, Amber has previously served as the Independent Support Co-ordinator at CoAbility, where she developed strategies that enable people with disabilities to achieve their goals and access essential services. Her experience as a Team Leader, and Support Coordinator at Yooralla highlights her ability to lead teams effectively, mentor staff, and build strong relationships within the sector.
Education and Achievements
Amber's robust educational background complements her professional experience, providing her with theoretical and practical frameworks to support her roles in the disability field. She has completed a Certificate IV in Training & Assessment at First Choice Training, which has equipped her with the pedagogic skills required to train others in the community services sector.
Additionally, Amber has studied Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), which showcases her commitment to mental health and crisis intervention, reflecting a compassionate approach to supporting individuals in distress. Her academic pursuits in psychology at Swinburne University of Technology further emphasize her commitment to understanding the complexities of human behavior, particularly in the context of trauma and mental health.
Amber has also completed a Diploma of Community Services focusing on case management at Pow Wow Training, alongside a Certificate IV in Disability Studies at Chisholm TAFE, guaranteeing that she has a comprehensive understanding of the nuances associated with disability services.
Moreover, Amber's studies in Applied Behaviour Analysis Therapy at the Autism Behavioural Intervention Association (ABIA) have solidified her foundational knowledge in evidence-based practices that are critical for working with children with ASD. Additionally, the Graduate Certificate in Mental Health that Amber pursued at HETI Higher Education demonstrates her dedication to continuing education and staying abreast of advancements in mental health, equipping her with skills that empower her clients to achieve their full potential.
Achievements
Amber’s achievements extend beyond her professional roles to her initiatives that aim to empower individuals with disabilities. As a foster carer to children with disabilities, Amber practices what she preaches by providing a nurturing environment for children who have faced challenges, including behaviors of concern and trauma. Her role as an ambassador for Yooralla's Family Options Program signifies her commitment to advocating for families and individuals navigating the complexities of disability services.
One of the principles that Amber embodies is leading by example, emphasizing the importance of being approachable and sharing knowledge. This ethos has fostered an environment where staff feel encouraged to develop professionally and personally under her tutelage. Amber believes in empowering her team, which ultimately enhances the overall quality of support provided to clients.
Her keen interest in various therapeutic modalities, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), trauma theory, mental health awareness, mindfulness, neuroplasticity, and overall psychology, aligns perfectly with her roles in disability support. Amber actively seeks to incorporate these interests into her practice, demonstrating a holistic approach to her work.
Additionally, Amber is a staunch advocate for women's rights and social justice, often speaking out against injustices she encounters within the sector and society at large. Her commitment to nurturing an equitable and supportive environment for all individuals, particularly those with disabilities, positions her as a vital player in promoting change within her community and beyond.
In summary, Amber Ericksen is an exemplary professional whose dedication to supporting individuals with disabilities has not only shaped her career but also transformed the lives of countless families and individuals in her community. Her extensive experience, educational qualifications, and unwavering commitment to advocacy make her a leading figure in the disability support sector.
Her work exemplifies a holistic approach to care, empowering individuals and families while leading significant projects that foster inclusion, understanding, and growth within the community.
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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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- 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
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.
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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 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.
Clay 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 Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay 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, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
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.
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