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Natalia Margolis
Software Engineer, News Engineering at The Washington Post
Professional Background
Natalia Margolis is a dedicated and innovative full stack software engineer with a strong commitment to leveraging technology for social good. With a versatile background that spans both technology and social advocacy, Natalia brings unique insights and skills to her current role as a Senior Full Stack Software Engineer in News Engineering at The Washington Post. In this position, she contributes to the development of cutting-edge software solutions that enhance communication and information dissemination in the media industry.
Before her impactful work at The Washington Post, Natalia honed her technical skills at Mapbox and Huge, where she developed a range of software applications that improved user engagement and experience. Her roles in these organizations have solidified her abilities in various programming languages, including JavaScript (Node/React) and Python, as well as in using AWS tools and SQL for robust application development.
Natalia's journey into the world of technology is particularly inspiring as it is deeply rooted in her experiences from the nonprofit sector. Before transitioning into software engineering, she worked in roles that emphasized community organization and grassroots movements. She served as the Information Services Coordinator at the Bank Information Center, where she focused on delivering critical information for advocacy and resource allocation. Her earlier experiences also include being a Research Assistant at The Robert Graham Center and an Urban Agriculture Intern at the City and County of San Francisco, demonstrating her diverse interests and commitment to public service.
Education and Achievements
Natalia's educational background is a solid foundation for her career, beginning with her studies in Energy and International Affairs at Georgetown University—a prestigious institution recognized for its rigorous academic programs and its emphasis on international policy and global issues. This educational experience equipped her with a profound understanding of the complexities surrounding technology and its role in addressing global challenges, making her an ideal candidate for work that intersects technology with social impact.
Furthering her commitment to becoming a software engineer, Natalia completed her training in Software Engineering at Hackbright Academy, which is renowned for producing skilled women in technology. This program not only enhanced her technical skill set but also provided her with a supportive community of fellow aspiring engineers, further fueling her passion for technology and collaboration.
Skills and Expertise
Natalia possesses a robust array of technical skills that are highly sought after in the tech industry. Her proficiency in JavaScript frameworks such as Node.js and React allows her to create dynamic and responsive web applications. Additionally, her knowledge of Python enables her to tackle complex backend development tasks, ensuring that her applications run smoothly and efficiently.
Her expertise extends to cloud computing with AWS tools and database management with SQL, allowing her to build scalable and high-performance applications. Furthermore, her skills in HTML/CSS and SASS assure that the front-end development of applications meets both aesthetic and functionality standards.
With a passion for collaboration and version control, Natalia is also adept in using Git, ensuring that her code is well-managed and easily shared with her team members throughout various stages of project development. This collaborative spirit, combined with her rich professional background, positions her as a valuable contributor to any development team.
Achievements
Natalia Margolis has made significant contributions to the organizations she has been a part of. At The Washington Post, her role as a Senior Full Stack Software Engineer plays a crucial part in innovating how news is delivered and consumed. Her work improves user engagement and helps the media organization adapt to the rapidly changing landscape of digital journalism.
Her previous stints at Mapbox and Huge allowed her to work on various high-impact projects that have great importance in the tech space. Each role has been a stepping stone in her career development, leading her to refine her technical skills while also amplifying her understanding of user-centric design principles. Natalia continues to advocate for the role technology plays in connecting communities and providing necessary resources for positive change.
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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.