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Liz Grefrath
Special Assistant to the ACLU National Legal Director and National Legal Department
Professional Background
Liz Grefrath has built a distinguished career characterized by extensive experience in law, public policy, and advocacy. Utilizing her strong academic background paired with practical exposure, Liz has honed her skills in legal research, policy analysis, and community engagement through various notable roles. Currently, she serves as the Special Assistant to the National Legal Director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where she champions civil rights and contributes to essential legal research and policy development efforts. Her role at the ACLU signifies her commitment to social justice and the protection of individual freedoms through informed legal practice and strategic advocacy.
Education and Achievements
Liz's educational background is as impressive as her professional journey. She completed her primary education at the esteemed Academy of the Holy Angels, which laid a strong foundation for her academic pursuits. She then obtained her Bachelor of Arts and later a Master of Arts from Columbia University in the City of New York, reaffirming her deep engagement with the social and political issues that shape our legal system. Furthermore, Liz earned her Doctor of Law (J.D.) from Brooklyn Law School, equipping her with critical legal knowledge and analytical skills essential for her advocacy work.
Throughout her academic career, Liz not only excelled in her studies but also contributed significantly through roles such as Research Assistant and Project Coordinator at Columbia University's Center for Oral History. These experiences not only enriched her educational journey but also fostered her passion for exploring historical narratives and promoting cultural understanding through dialogue.
Notable Experiences and Contributions
Liz Grefrath's professional trajectory includes a variety of roles that highlight her diverse skill set and commitment to the legal field. Before her current position at the ACLU, she gained valuable insights into legal practices as a Summer Associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where she engaged with high-stakes legal research and gained exposure to corporate law practices. Additionally, Liz's time as a Summer Legal Intern at ACLU provided her with a foundational understanding of civil liberties, reinforcing her dedication to social justice causes.
Prior to her legal internships, Liz played a pivotal role at the Network for Peace Through Dialogue as the Conference Coordinator, where she facilitated important discussions aimed at promoting understanding and conflict resolution among communities. This experience showcases her excellent organizational skills and her ability to lead initiatives that resonate with her passion for dialogue and peace-building.
Key to her growth in public policy has been her involvement with the Alliance for the Arts and The Public Theater, where she worked as a Public Policy Intern and an Institutional Giving Intern, respectively. These roles enhanced her capacity to analyze policies, engage with stakeholders, and develop funding strategies—all critical skills that continue to influence her approach to legal advocacy and community involvement.
Additionally, Liz's work as the Oral History Summer Institute Coordinator at Columbia University allowed her to leverage her skills in conducting interviews and documenting firsthand accounts, further contributing to her understanding of social narratives and the historical context of legal issues.
Commitment to Community Engagement and Development
Above all, Liz Grefrath believes in the importance of community engagement and the power of storytelling in creating social change. Through her various academic roles and internships, she has consistently sought opportunities to connect with diverse individuals and communities. Her experiences have culminated in a strong desire to blend her legal expertise with public service, and she continues to actively engage in discussions on law, policy, and civil rights.
In summary, Liz Grefrath is a passionate advocate with a solid track record of legal and public policy experience. Her academic achievements from prestigious institutions coupled with her hands-on roles in various organizations exemplify her commitment to the betterment of society through law and advocacy. As she continues her journey, Liz is poised to make impactful contributions to the fields of law, public policy, and community engagement, making her a distinguished figure in her profession.
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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.
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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.