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Laura Graf
Director of Public Relations
Professional Background
Laura Graf is a highly accomplished professional in the field of public relations and communications, whose diverse career spans multiple organizations and roles. With a strong foundation in journalism and effective communication strategies, she dedicates her efforts to enhancing the credibility of individuals and organizations alike. Currently serving as the Director of Public Relations at ECMC Group, Laura plays a pivotal role in shaping the public image of this influential organization, ensuring that their messages resonate with target audiences.
Prior to her role at ECMC Group, Laura held several significant positions that enriched her expertise and understanding of the communications landscape. As the Principal/Public Relations Practitioner at LTG Communications LLC, she provided strategic communications counsel, delivering tailored solutions to meet the unique needs of each client. Her experience as a Senior Account Director at McFarland Cahill Communications honed her skills in managing high-stakes communications initiatives for a variety of industries.
Laura began her career with a solid foundation in writing and messaging as a Copy Writer at Clark Consulting. Her journey in the public relations field continued to flourish as she took on the role of Senior Account Executive in the Financial and Professional Services Group at Weber Shandwick, where she gained invaluable insights into communications within the financial sector.
In addition, Laura's tenure as Executive Director of Communications, Education & Technology at the Minnesota Credit Union Network showcased her ability to integrate communications with educational initiatives. Her earlier work as a Business Communications Specialist at US Federal Credit Union, along with her role as a Communications Specialist at the Minnesota Credit Union System, equipped her with a profound understanding of the credit union industry and its unique communication needs.
Education and Achievements
Laura holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the prestigious University of Missouri-Columbia, which laid the groundwork for her exceptional writing and communication skills. Her educational background provided her with the tools necessary to excel in the fast-paced world of public relations, where effective communication is key to building relationships and fostering trust.
Throughout her career, Laura has demonstrated an acute ability to implement communication strategies that not only inform but also engage and inspire audiences. She is passionate about the influential power of communications and believes in the importance of creating messages that are both compelling and effective. Laura’s dedication to her craft has led to numerous successful campaigns that have enhanced brand visibility, improved stakeholder engagement, and built lasting reputations for the organizations she has represented.
Achievements
Throughout her career, Laura Graf has achieved notable milestones that underline her commitment to excellence in public relations and communications. Her innovative strategies and leadership in the field have earned her recognition among industry peers. Whether it's advancing the goals of organizations through impactful communication efforts or providing thought leadership in the arena of public relations, Laura consistently raises the bar.
Laura's profound understanding of communications, combined with her extensive experience in various sectors including finance, education, and technology, position her as a sought-after expert in her field. Her ongoing efforts to build credibility for the organizations and individuals she works with showcase her professional ethos and unwavering dedication to achieving outstanding results in public relations and communications.
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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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- 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.
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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.
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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.
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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