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Kera Keene
Certified Meeting Professional (CMP)
Professional Background
Kera Keene is an accomplished event manager with over 8 years of specialized experience in hospitality, event management, and the a cappella industry. Her extensive background combines elements of customer service, organizational skills, and the intricate details required for successful execution of both in-person and virtual events. With expertise that spans many facets of the hospitality and event management sectors, Kera brings a remarkable ability to connect with clients and stakeholders, ensuring that every event she manages is unique and tailored to the needs of its audience.
Currently, she serves as the Coordinator of Events at Babson College, where she is responsible for organizing and managing a wide variety of events that cater to a diverse audience. Kera has honed her skills in leadership and client interaction, making her an invaluable asset in any setting where professional communication and detailed planning are key. Her role involves close collaboration with faculty, staff, and outside vendors to produce events that are seamless and memorable, showcasing her ability to maintain high standards under pressure.
Prior to her current position, Kera worked as a Convention Services Manager at Grandover Resort, where she successfully oversaw numerous conferences and high-profile gatherings. Her responsibilities included coordinating logistics, managing vendor relationships, and ensuring that client specifications were met to perfection. Her experience at Grandover Resort allowed her to develop a keen eye for detail and a solid understanding of the complexities involved in managing large-scale events.
Kera's career journey also includes time spent as an Event Manager at Deep River Event Center, where she demonstrated her natural talent for hospitality management. Here, she organized various private and public events, further building her expertise in the hospitality sector. Her background in catering began at Panera Bread, where she served as Catering Coordinator, allowing her to learn the ins and outs of food and event service—a skill that she has utilized throughout her career.
Additionally, Kera gained valuable customer service experience as Guest Service Representative Lead at Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants & Hotels. These roles have equipped Kera with a versatile skill set that blends event management, customer service, and operational strategy, making her adept at navigating the fast-paced world of events.
Education and Achievements
Kera Keene earned her Bachelor's Degree in Hospitality & Tourism Management from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). During her time at UNCG, she developed a foundational knowledge of the tourism industry and management practices, focusing on creating exceptional guest experiences. This education has served as a stepping stone into the various roles Kera has taken on in her professional journey.
Her academic background, combined with her hands-on experience, positions her as a knowledgeable figure in the hospitality and event management industries. Kera's commitment to continuous learning and her proactive nature are evident in her career trajectory, as she consistently seeks out opportunities to enhance her skills and deliver outstanding service.
Achievements
Kera has earned recognition for her dedication to excellence in the event management field. Her ability to foster positive relationships with clients and colleagues alike has resulted in numerous successful events that leave lasting impressions. Kera's attention to detail is legendary among her peers; she is known for her ability to anticipate needs before they arise, which greatly enhances the overall experience for everyone involved.
In the a cappella space, Kera has made significant contributions by providing audio-visual services tailored specifically for a cappella events. Her strong understanding of the nuances associated with these specific performances makes her a sought-after professional in this niche field. Her passion for music and vocal performance infuses her work with creativity and innovation, enabling her to elevate the standard of events she manages.
Conclusion
In summary, Kera Keene embodies the qualities of an organized, goal-oriented event manager who excels in hospitality and client interaction. With an outstanding professional background that spans various prestigious organizations and a robust education in Hospitality & Tourism Management, Kera is an astute leader ready to tackle the most challenging event management tasks. Her commitment to delivering exceptional events is matched only by her passion for continuous growth and curiosity in her field. Kera’s expertise in both traditional and virtual events, coupled with her background in audio-visual services for the a cappella industry, makes her a multi-dimensional professional ready to take on future challenges with poise and passion.
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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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- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- 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 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.
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.