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Donna Simmonds
#opentowork Operations/Event/Festival Industry Professional looking for opportunities.
Professional Background
Donna Simmonds is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in the trade show and entertainment sectors. With a robust portfolio that includes managing large-scale, multi-day events such as music festivals, expos, and trade shows, Donna has honed her skills in event management and logistics. Her multi-faceted background enables her to navigate the complexities of event planning seamlessly, showcasing her exceptional ability to prioritize and execute tasks across various projects while ensuring timely delivery and consistency.
Throughout her illustrious career, Donna has embraced a variety of roles that have enriched her professional journey. From serving as a Marketing Event Technology Manager at (add)ventures to stepping into the pivotal role of Director of Operations at Reveal LIVE! Entertainment, she has made significant contributions to the organizations she has been a part of. Donna's strategic vision and operational acumen have consistently driven successful outcomes for every event she oversees. Her experience as a Contract Administrator at Lost Lands Festival and Festival Cash Manager for Firefly Music Festival further underscores her versatility and capability in managing diverse aspects of major events.
Additionally, she has held key positions such as Director of Operations at Meeting Street Productions and Operations Coordinator at AEG Presents. Donna's hands-on experience with both festival operations and meeting planning stands as a testament to her adaptability and enthusiasm for the field. Her earlier roles, including Administrative Assistant at the Appraisal Institute and Assistant Meeting Planner at the Council of Residential Specialists, laid a strong foundation for her career in the bustling world of events and entertainment.
Education and Achievements
Educationally, Donna pursued her passion for communication and the arts at Loyola University of Chicago, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degrees in both Communication and Media Studies and Directing and Theatrical Production. This dual focus not only equipped her with a solid understanding of media, behavior, and communication, but also developed her creative thinking and directing abilities within various production contexts.
Beyond her academic foundation, Donna has also dedicated herself to expanding her craft in writing. Since 2013, she has actively participated in numerous writing workshops and seminars, fostering her skills in fiction writing. This creative outlet not only enriches her professional life but also complements her event planning abilities, as storytelling is often at the heart of effective marketing and engagement strategies.
Achievements
Donna Simmonds has demonstrated her ability to excel in changing environments, consistently delivering successful results regardless of the setting—whether in an office, onsite at events, or remotely. Her strong work ethic and commitment to excellence are evident in her successful management of diverse, multi-disciplinary teams to achieve common goals in high-pressure environments.
As a versatile and adaptable professional, Donna Simmonds is well-positioned to tackle challenges and leverage her skills in various sectors beyond entertainment and trade shows. Her passion for delivering high-quality experiences is matched by her dedication to lifelong learning and professional development, making her a valuable asset to any organization she joins.
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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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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- 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 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.
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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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