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Tim Wisniewski
Director of Technology at Citizens Advice, former CDO at City of Philadelphia
Professional Background
Tim Wisniewski is a renowned civic technologist known for his expertise in navigating the intricacies of bureaucracy, driving cultural shifts, and employing innovative problem-solving techniques. His role as Chief Data Officer for the City of Philadelphia marked a significant chapter in his career, where he made substantial contributions to public transparency and civic engagement through data. Wisniewski and his dedicated team successfully released over 200 open data sets, which greatly improved transparency concerning city contracts, property taxes, police interactions, and the city budget. This emphasis on openness resulted in a more informed and involved citizenry, fostering trust between the government and the public.
In 2016, Wisniewski’s responsibilities expanded as he spearheaded the creation of the Office of Open Data & Digital Transformation, which represented a groundbreaking initiative within the city government. This forward-thinking office brought together a team of design, development, and content professionals, focusing on advancing digital innovation and enhancing the governmental experience for residents. One of his notable achievements in this role was overseeing the launch of a completely revamped phila.gov, transforming it into a more user-friendly platform. The redesign aimed to streamline access to city services, making it easier for citizens to engage with their government and access critical resources.
Prior to his impactful tenure in Philadelphia’s city administration, Wisniewski served as the Executive Director of the Frankford Special Services District. Here, he played a vital role in revitalizing the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor through strategic public safety and beautification initiatives, enhancing the neighborhood's attractiveness and functionality. As President of the 24th Police District Advisory Council, he was instrumental in establishing Somerset Neighbors, a civic association focused on fostering community involvement and collaboration within Kensington, Philadelphia.
Education and Achievements
Tim Wisniewski is an alumnus of Richmond, the American International University in London, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Political Science. His educational background laid a solid foundation for his work in public service and civic technology, providing him with the analytical skills and understanding necessary to tackle complex public policy challenges.
Throughout his career, Tim has held various roles, allowing him to combine his passion for technology and civic engagement. He has also served as the Director of Technology and formerly as Interim Director of Technology at Citizens Advice, an organization focused on providing support and guidance to citizens. In these roles, Wisniewski contributed to enhancing technology solutions that drive efficiency and accessibility for individuals seeking help.
In addition to his directorial positions, he has also worked as a Data & Digital Strategy Consultant, providing his expertise to various organizations. His earlier positions within the City of Philadelphia include Chief Data Officer, Deputy CIO, Director of Civic Technology, and Assistant Managing Director. Each of these roles equipped him with invaluable experience and insights into how technology can be employed to improve civic services and foster community engagement.
Tim’s trajectory reflects a profound commitment to leveraging data and technology for the public good, promoting civility, and enhancing the quality of life for Philadelphia residents. He embodies a blend of leadership and technical skills that have facilitated significant advancements in public service delivery.
Achievements
Tim Wisniewski’s career is adorned with numerous achievements that underscore his dedication to civic technology and community improvement. His leadership as Chief Data Officer has been pivotal in transforming how the City of Philadelphia engages with its residents, particularly in terms of openness and accessibility of vital information.
Some of the key achievements in Wisniewski's professional portfolio include:
- The release of over 200 open data sets, fostering a culture of transparency within city governance.
- Establishing the Office of Open Data & Digital Transformation, which reflects his commitment to continuous improvement and innovation in civic services.
- Launching a redesigned phila.gov, which serves as a more effective digital gateway for residents seeking city services.
- Leadership in revitalization projects that enhance public safety and beautification in local neighborhoods, demonstrating his understanding of community needs and engagement.
- Founding Somerset Neighbors, a civic association that promotes active citizenship and community collaboration.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Tim Wisniewski's personal interests enrich his character. He is known for his enthusiasm for coding and enjoys experimenting with the latest JavaScript libraries for side projects. Tim is also a self-described television aficionado, often sharing his strong opinions on various series. Additionally, he has a special bond with his dog, Decaf, whom he loves to spoil, showcasing his warm and approachable personality.
In summary, Tim Wisniewski's career exemplifies the impactful intersection of technology and civic engagement. His relentless pursuit of transparency, community revitalization, and innovative solutions continues to make a decisive difference in the lives of Philadelphia residents. As he progresses in his career, his contributions to civic technology will undoubtedly foster greater involvement, trust, and quality of life within the fabric of American urban life.
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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 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.