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Emma Rackstraw
PhD Candidate at Harvard University
Professional Background
Emma Rackstraw is a distinguished PhD candidate at Harvard University, where she specializes in the economics of criminal justice reform. Her academic journey is marked by a commitment to research and a passion for influencing public policy, particularly in areas intersecting crime, governance, and economic outcomes. Emma's career has journeyed through several prestigious institutions, where she has consistently sought to apply economic principles to societal challenges, showcasing her remarkable analytical skills and dedication to bettering communities through data-driven decisions.
Prior to her current studies at Harvard, Emma honed her skills at the Office of Evaluation Sciences, a key agency dedicated to enhancing government programs through rigorous evidence-based analysis. This experience was complemented by her tenure at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT, where she led the Crime and Political Economy & Governance sectors. Here, Emma played a pivotal role in shaping policies aimed at reducing crime and promoting economic stability. Her innovative projects helped bridge the gap between complex economic theories and real-world applications intended to benefit marginalized populations.
Adding to her wealth of experience, Emma served as a Research Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers in The White House. In this influential role, she focused her research efforts on crucial aspects of labor, education, and poverty policy, contributing to the development of initiatives designed to foster economic mobility and educational access. Emma's ability to translate intricate economic research into actionable policy recommendations illustrates her unique capability to possess both analytical rigor and a compassionate understanding of societal needs.
Education and Achievements
Emma's educational foundation is as impressive as her professional achievements. She holds a Bachelor's degree from the prestigious Wellesley College, a liberal arts college known for its commitment to women's education and leadership. At Wellesley, Emma not only excelled academically but also actively engaged in various extracurricular activities, enhancing her leadership and teaching expertise. Her role as an Econometrics Teaching Assistant sharpened her analytical abilities while providing her with valuable experience in mentoring her peers.
Throughout her career, Emma has been recognized for her critical contributions to the field of economics and public policy. She has previously worked as a Research Assistant at the Council of Economic Advisers, where her insights played a significant role in economic debates at the national level. Additionally, her freelance work as an editor and writing tutor at Wellesley College highlights her versatile skill set, showcasing her ability to communicate complex ideas effectively.
Notable Contributions
Emma's work in the realm of economics and public policy has been characterized by her commitment to evidence-based decision-making. At J-PAL, she has led a number of impactful studies that sought to understand the intricate relationships between crime and economic variables. Her research initiatives aim to illuminate the underlying factors contributing to criminal behavior and the effectiveness of various reform strategies.
Her keen insights into labor economics, education, and poverty have adorned various collaborative projects, influencing policy frameworks that have had far-reaching implications on both local and national levels. Emma embodies the role of a scholar-practitioner, continually seeking ways to enhance her research endeavors with practical applications that align with the mission of promoting social equity.
Achievements
Emma has consistently demonstrated her research prowess through her contributions to key areas within economic policy, substantiated by her roles in esteemed organizations. Perhaps one of her most notable projects involved leading interdisciplinary teams at J-PAL to address crime and its economic impact, leading to recommendations that have been integrated into public policy discussions. In addition to her hands-on research efforts, Emma has dedicated significant time to teaching, empowering her students with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the complexities of economic theory and practice.
In summary, Emma Rackstraw is a dedicated and accomplished academic and professional whose work contemplates the intersection of economics and social issues. Her journey through Harvard, Wellesley College, and prominent research institutions underscores her tremendous potential as a leader in the field. With a holistic understanding of both theoretical frameworks and practical applications, Emma is poised to make significant contributions to criminal justice reform and the broader arena of public policy. Her pursuit of academic excellence and her unwavering commitment to social change position her as a key figure in shaping a more just and equitable 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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- 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.
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.