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Rachael Barlow
Creative educator and assessment professional
Professional Background
Rachael E. Barlow is a highly respected quantitative and qualitative analysis professional who has dedicated over 19 years to the field of higher education, serving as a teacher, staff member, and administrator. Her wealth of experience positions her as a trusted leader and adviser to university leadership, faculty, and staff. Rachael has played a pivotal role in designing and implementing surveys, interviews, and focus groups that gather critical student data. This information is essential for driving campus initiatives and enhancing programs across institutions.
Rachael's expertise in applying both cross-sectional and panel research designs equips her to collect, analyze, and present trends and recommendations aimed at improving core student learning outcomes (SLOs) and the overall student experience. Her experience as an adjunct faculty member provides her with a unique perspective on the student educational journey, as she understands firsthand the challenges and priorities that faculty face. Rachael is known for her exceptional ability to reduce costs while maximizing evaluation successes by actively engaging students in interviewing and assessment processes.
With an impressive track record, Rachael has facilitated over 300 data-related sessions as a guest lecturer, resulting in more than 900 meaningful meetings with students pursuing data assignments. This innovative strategy has not only provided valuable assistance in assessment work but has also been effective in developing students' individual research skills and enhancing their academic experience.
Rachael Barlow consistently receives recognition from college leadership, which speaks volumes about her capability in managing critical projects. Her work often focuses on areas such as accreditation and addressing current issues and trends in higher education, which underscores her commitment to promoting excellence in academic assessment and student learning.
Education and Achievements
Rachael's impressive educational background sets the foundation for her successful career in higher education. She studied Sociology and Anthropology at Washington and Lee University, where she developed a solid understanding of social dynamics that would later inform her research and teaching methodologies. Building upon this foundation, Rachael pursued her Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology at Indiana University Bloomington. Here, she honed her research skills and deepened her knowledge of sociological theories and methodologies, which she has effectively leveraged in her professional endeavors.
Additionally, Rachael expanded her global perspective by studying abroad in Durban, South Africa, at the School for International Training. This experience not only enriched her understanding of global educational contexts but also enhanced her ability to analyze and relate to diverse student populations.
Professional Impact
Rachael's professional journey includes remarkable roles at several prestigious institutions. Currently serving as the Associate Director of Assessment at Wesleyan University, she leads initiatives that focus on evaluating and enhancing student learning outcomes. Her earlier positions, including Director of Academic Assessment and Director of the Trinity College Accreditation Project at Trinity College in Hartford, have further solidified her expertise in academic evaluation and accreditation processes.
Rachael's previous roles as a Social Sciences Research and Data Coordinator and Interim Director of the Social Science Center at Trinity College also contributed significantly to her professional growth. She has consistently demonstrated her ability to bridge the gap between research and practical application, ensuring that academic programs are aligned with best practices in education.
Moreover, Rachael has shared her knowledge and skills as an adjunct instructor at various esteemed institutions, including Trinity College, the University of Hartford, and the University of Connecticut. Her role as an Associate Instructor at Indiana University Bloomington also showcases her long-standing commitment to engaging with students and fostering their academic development.
Her technical skills are vast and varied, including proficiency in Stata, SPSS, NVIVO, Atlas.ti, Qualtrics, and WordPress. Additionally, she is adept at utilizing remote meeting platforms such as WebEx, GoToMeeting, and Zoom, showcasing her adaptability and willingness to embrace technological advancement in education.
Achievements
Rachael E. Barlow's career is marked by numerous achievements and a profound commitment to improving the educational experiences of students in higher education. She has successfully led assessment initiatives that have become models for institutions seeking to enhance their academic programs. Her unique ability to analyze student data and derive actionable insights has resulted in numerous enhancements to curriculum development and teaching methodologies.
As a sought-after leader and adviser in the field, Rachael has profoundly impacted various colleges and universities by advocating for student-centered approaches to education. Her contribution to the academic community is further demonstrated through her involvement in over 300 guest lecturing sessions, where she has shared her insights on qualitative and quantitative research, engaging countless students in the intricacies of data analysis and interpretation.
Through her commitment to accreditation projects and her ability to tackle current trends in higher education, Rachael has played a vital role in ensuring institutions meet and exceed standards for academic quality and effectiveness. Her acute understanding of the intersection between student outcomes and institutional effectiveness has positioned her as a leading figure in the academic landscape.
In summary, Rachael E. Barlow exemplifies what it means to be a dedicated professional in the realm of higher education. With her rich background in sociology, extensive experience in assessment, and unwavering commitment to educational excellence, she continues to make a significant impact on the academic journeys of students and the institutions she serves. Her passion for fostering student growth and enhancing educational practices through evidence-based strategies underscores why she is a valued leader in this field.
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Clay is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Clay centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
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:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- 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.
Nexus is Clay's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
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.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
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.