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Jon Scholes
President and CEO at Downtown Seattle Association
Professional Background
Jon Scholes is a highly accomplished leader in urban development and public policy, currently serving as the President and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA). In this pivotal role, he spearheads initiatives aimed at enhancing the economic vitality and livability of Seattle's downtown core. His strategic vision and advocacy efforts focus on promoting sustainable growth, fostering community engagement, and developing solutions to meet the evolving needs of Seattle's urban landscape.
Before his current position, Jon made significant contributions as the Vice President of Advocacy and Economic Development at DSA. During his tenure, he successfully led campaigns that strengthened the community's voice in local decision-making and mobilized resources to support downtown businesses and residents. His extensive experience in advocacy has equipped him with the tools to effectively navigate the complexities of urban policy, driving impactful change throughout the region.
Education and Achievements
Jon graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Washington. His academic foundation in political science and government has deeply influenced his career trajectory, encouraging him to engage with the political process and the intricacies within local governance. Prior to his studies at the University of Washington, Jon commenced his academic journey at The University of Texas at Austin, where he further developed his understanding of political dynamics.
Jon's career in public service began as a Research Director for the Gregoire Campaign in 2008 and the Washington State Democratic Party. In this capacity, he conducted in-depth research to inform and support campaign strategies, effectively influencing public discourse and voter engagement. His political acumen was further enhanced when he served as the Deputy Campaign Manager for the YES on Roads and Transit/Proposition One campaign where he played a crucial role in advocating for transit improvements and infrastructure development.
Another notable position in Jon's career was serving as the Chief of Staff for King County Councilmember Julia Patterson. In this role, he managed legislative priorities and developed policy initiatives, creating pathways for effective governance and community representation. His diverse skill set also includes experience in the private sector as an Associate Account Executive at Imagion, a prominent firm within J Walter Thompson, where he honed his skills in communications and strategic marketing.
Achievements
Jon Scholes' dedication to urban development and community advocacy has earned him recognition within the Seattle community and beyond. He has played an integral role in initiatives that not only bolster the economy but also enhance the quality of life for residents. His leadership at DSA has resulted in successful projects that encourage public participation and stakeholder collaboration, showcasing his commitment to inclusive urban policymaking.
Under Jon's guidance, DSA has launched numerous campaigns focusing on public safety, economic development, and community engagement. He is known for building coalitions among different sectors, including businesses, non-profits, and local government. These collaborations are vital in addressing the challenges faced by urban cities while promoting responsible growth and sustainability.
In addition to his professional achievements, Jon is recognized for his contributions to civic engagement, mentoring young professionals interested in public policy and city planning. His passion for fostering the next generation of leaders aligns with his overarching goal of creating a more vibrant and accountable urban environment.
Through his remarkable career, Jon has established himself as a vital figure in Seattle's civic landscape. His commitment to serving the community, combined with his extensive expertise in political science and urban advocacy, positions Jon Scholes as a leading voice in the ongoing dialogue regarding the future of Seattle and its downtown area.
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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.
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.
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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.