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Derek Bardowell
Author, Philanthropy Advisor & Knowledge Equity Fellow at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Professional Background
Derek A. Bardowell is a highly regarded writer, philanthropy advisor, and Knowledge Equity Fellow at the prestigious Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. With a rich and diverse career that spans several industries, Derek has carved out a significant niche for himself in the dialogue around race, culture, and social justice. He is widely recognized for his reflective writing, particularly in his acclaimed book, No Win Race, published by Mudlark/Harper Nonfiction in 2019. This insightful work explores the complex realities of race and racism in contemporary Britain through the lens of sport, underscoring how these issues permeate various facets of life.
Derek commenced his professional journey in journalism, where he honed his writing and critical thinking skills. Notably, he held the position of music editor for The Voice, a publication dedicated to covering news important to the Black community in the UK. In addition to his role at The Voice, he contributed engaging content to esteemed platforms such as the BBC World Service and MTV, expanding his reach and influence as a media professional. His journalistic contributions cover a wide range of publications, including The Times, The Guardian, British GQ, Time Out, NME, and The Source. Furthermore, he has lent his voice to various anthologies and collaborative works, strengthening his reputation as a thought leader in contemporary Black British culture.
Transitioning from journalism to the social sector, Derek has directed impactful programs for organizations such as the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, where he developed initiatives that received accolades from major institutions like NASA and the University of the Arts. His leadership skills became ever more evident in his roles at the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, and the National Lottery Community Fund, where he was instrumental in managing significant funding initiatives. Between 2009 and 2019, Derek oversaw portfolios that spanned various sectors, successfully launching seven funding programs that cumulatively distributed over £150 million to support good causes across 34 countries. His contributions to the social sector have not only garnered recognition for their administrative excellence but also for their focus on community upliftment and social change.
In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, Derek currently hosts the podcast Just Cause, which delves into pertinent issues surrounding race, culture, and social justice. His commitment to advocacy and social equity continues through his role as a trustee of the Thirty Percy Foundation, where he actively engages in initiatives aimed at creating a more equitable society.
Education and Achievements
Derek's academic background is firmly rooted in the fields of sociology and communication, allowing him to approach his work with a nuanced understanding of societal dynamics. He holds a BA (Hons) in Sociology with Communication Studies from Middlesex University and further advanced his expertise by earning an MA in Creative Writing (Nonfiction) from City, University of London.
His book No Win Race received critical acclaim and was featured as a Book of the Year by both the Sunday Times and the Financial Times. It was also longlisted for the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award in 2019 and shortlisted for the Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the Indie Book Awards in 2020, demonstrating the impact of his work in literary circles. Additionally, as a Churchill Fellow, Derek contributes to valuable research and discourse in the nonprofit sector, focusing on strategies to confront racism in education through his report They Just Don’t Know, commissioned by the Churchill Fellowship.
Achievements
His broad range of accomplishments expands beyond literary success and educational pedigree; Derek A. Bardowell is recognized for his excellence in philanthropy and advocacy as evidenced through several key positions, which include:
- Senior Head of UK Portfolio at The National Lottery Community Fund: Managed diverse funding initiatives that bolstered local communities.
- Head of Programmes at Laureus Sport for Good Foundation: Overseeing programs that leverage sport for social change.
- Grants Manager at Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: Allocated resources strategically to maximize impact in the third sector.
- Director of Education at Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust: Developed impactful educational programs and initiatives.
- Project Manager at Headliners: Led projects focused on youth engagement and development.
Derek A. Bardowell stands out as an influential figure in the realms of writing, social justice, and philanthropy. His multifaceted career serves as an inspiration for aspiring writers and activists alike, proving the potential for media and philanthropic work to enact tangible social change. Through his ongoing projects, Derek continues to spark critical conversations and cultivate environments of understanding and progress in contemporary society.
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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
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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 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.