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Carrie Kohns
Founder - Principal at K&K Group
Professional Background
Carrie Kohns is a highly accomplished communications professional with a diverse background spanning over several prominent positions within government, public relations, and consulting. Her dynamic career trajectory has equipped her with a wealth of experience in strategic communications, public relations, and organizational leadership, serving both in the public and private sectors. As the founder and principal of the K&K Group, Carrie harnesses her expertise to provide consulting services that emphasize effective communication and stakeholder engagement strategies, solidifying her reputation as a formidable figure in the communications field.
Carrie's journey began in the realm of local government, where she honed her skills in strategic communication and stakeholder management. Notably, she served as Chief of Staff and Communications Director for the esteemed Mayor Adrian M. Fenty at the DC Government. In these roles, Carrie played a critical part in navigating complex political landscapes and ensuring that effective communication was conducted both internally and externally. Her keen understanding of the nuances involved in public administration has enabled her to cultivate strong relationships with key stakeholders, which has been pivotal in fulfilling legislative goals.
In addition to her exemplary service to the District of Columbia, Carrie has also made her mark on the national stage. As the Washington Director/Communications Director for Representative Loretta Sanchez at the U.S. House of Representatives, she was instrumental in developing communications strategies that resonated with constituents and the media alike. She successfully leveraged her expertise to articulate policy positions and initiatives, enhancing public awareness and support for vital legislative measures.
Throughout her professional journey, Carrie has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to public service and advocacy, further solidified by her previous experience as a Senior Team Member at Carl Byoir and Associates, part of the WPP family. Here, she provided strategic public relations counsel to a multitude of clients, laying the groundwork for her comprehensive understanding of the communication's landscape. Carrie's early career as a Public Relations Specialist at Ingram Micro and a Public Information Assistant at the City of Anaheim gave her vital insights into effective messaging and audience engagement, skills she has continuously refined throughout her illustrious career.
Education and Achievements
Carrie Kohns is an alumna of California State University, Fullerton, where she studied Communication and Media Studies. This solid educational foundation has been integral in shaping her analytical skills and understanding of communication theories—skills that she has expertly applied in her roles throughout her career. The knowledge she garnered during her academic tenure has been instrumental in her ability to navigate various communication challenges and achieve successful outcomes for both her employers and clients.
Carrie’s professional achievements are a testament to her dedication to excellence and results-oriented approach. Having established the K&K Group, she continues to empower organizations by refining their communication strategies and enhancing their public engagement initiatives. Her expertise has also allowed her to mentor upcoming professionals in the field, sharing invaluable insights and experiences that pave the way for their success. As a seasoned leader, Carrie understands the importance of nurturing talent and creating opportunities for aspiring communicators.
Achievements
- Founder and Principal of K&K Group: Carrie established her own consulting firm, allowing her to leverage her extensive expertise in communication and public relations while helping organizations thrive in an evolving landscape.
- Chief of Staff, Rep. Karen Bass at U.S. House of Representatives: In this capacity, Carrie demonstrated her capacity to lead in a fast-paced environment, effectively managing legislative operations and communications.
- Communications Director for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty: Carrie’s role in shaping communication strategies for the City of Washington, D.C., helped drive key initiatives forward, showcasing her capability to handle critical public messaging during her tenure.
- Washington Director/Communications Director for Rep. Loretta Sanchez: This position allowed Carrie to contribute to meaningful legislative discourse and public engagement at the national level, ensuring clarity and transparency in communications.
- Senior Associate at Weber Shandwick: This experience ingrained in her a robust understanding of PR consulting across various sectors, enabling her to cultivate a strong strategic mindset.
- Public Information Assistant at City of Anaheim: Early in her career, Carrie laid the foundation for her public relations skills, engaging with the community and managing public inquiries effectively.
Carrie Kohns’ exceptional career and educational background are a blueprint for aspiring communication professionals. Her ability to adapt and thrive in various roles speaks volumes about her talents and deep-seated commitment to excellence in communication and public service. As she continues to lead the K&K Group and influence a new generation of communicators, Carrie is set to leave an indelible mark on the landscape of public relations and policy communications.
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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.
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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.
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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 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'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.
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