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Kris Ohleth
Executive Director at Special Initiative on Offshore Wind
Professional Background
Kris Ohleth has cultivated a remarkable career at the intersection of environmental policy, communication, and stakeholder engagement. As the current Executive Director at the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind, Kris plays an integral role in shaping essential dialogues surrounding renewable energy, advocating for sustainable offshore wind practices that balance ecological interests with technological advancement. With many years of experience in both the public and private sectors, Kris has developed a robust portfolio that provides a wealth of knowledge in marine spatial planning, stakeholder relationships, and innovative project management.
Prior to her current role, Kris excelled as the Senior Manager of Stakeholder Engagement at Ørsted, where she worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between community needs and renewable energy initiatives. Her past experiences include serving as Environmental Specialist at Ecology and Environment, Inc., where she honed her technical expertise, and as Executive Director at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO), focusing on collaborative ocean management solutions for the Mid-Atlantic region.
Kris has consistently demonstrated leadership and vision across organizations, guiding transformative projects in the energy sector through positions such as Director of Permitting at Atlantic Wind Connection and Policy Manager for Renewable Energy at Ocean Conservancy. Each role has built upon her core belief that effective communication and transparent stakeholder engagement can pave the way for sustainable development.
Education and Achievements
Kris Ohleth is well-educated, with a strong foundation in journalism and environmental policy. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication from Rutgers University, where she honed her skills in storytelling and effective communication—essential tools that have empowered her career in the realms of environmental advocacy and policy.
Following this, she pursued a Master of Arts in Ocean and Coastal Policy from the University of Rhode Island, further deepening her understanding of the complexities within ocean governance and coastal management. This specialization has been crucial in her professional responsibilities, equipping her with the knowledge to tackle pressing maritime issues and promote innovative solutions.
Her commitment to leadership and community development is also reflected in her participation in Leadership NJ, where she was a member of the Class of 2010. This experience not only enhanced her leadership capabilities but also expanded her network of influential colleagues in the New Jersey region.
Notable Professional Roles
Throughout her career, Kris has held numerous impactful roles that demonstrate her versatility and commitment to environmental stewardship. As the Owner & Operator of Garden State Kitchen, she showcased her entrepreneurial spirit, contributing to culinary initiatives that support local businesses and promote sustainability within the food industry.
In her role as the Director of Environmental Programs at Deepwater Wind, Kris was pivotal in advancing offshore wind energy projects, effectively advocating for the integration of environmental concerns into the planning and execution of renewable energy initiatives. Her insights as the Deputy Project Director at Bluewater Wind further positioned her as a leader in renewable energy project management.
Kris’s early career included serving in pivotal roles such as Communications Coordinator for the Smith Fellows Program at The Nature Conservancy and Marine Field Technician at NOAA Fisheries. These experiences laid the groundwork for her understanding of marine ecosystems and public communication strategies, which are invaluable in fostering positive relationships between stakeholders and advancing environmental policies.
Achievements
Kris Ohleth is immensely respected in her field for her numerous achievements, including advancements in offshore wind energy, stakeholder engagement strategies, and her leadership in environmental advocacy. Her tenure at the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind demonstrates her ability to innovate and drive impactful conversation on renewable energy.
Recognizing the importance of community involvement in sustainability, Kris has been instrumental in various collaborative projects aimed at promoting effective marine spatial planning and renewable energy initiatives.
Kris's extensive background encompasses not just leadership roles but also community-oriented projects that underscore her commitment to education and awareness in environmental sciences.
Overall, Kris Ohleth is a distinguished professional whose breadth of expertise encompasses environmental policy, strategic communication, and renewable energy advocacy. Her contributions to ocean and coastal policy make her a vital player in shaping the future of sustainable energy solutions and marine ecosystem protection.
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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 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.