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Tonya Creamer
Client and Partner Management l Operations l Team Motivation and Coaching I Implementation l Cross-Functional Project Leadership l Process and Governance Design
Professional Background
Tonya Creamer is a dynamic and consultative change agent with an illustrious career dedicated to education, technology, and professional development. With extensive experience working alongside a diverse range of partners, including rapid-growth start-ups and well-established enterprises, Tonya excels in building trust and driving strategic initiatives in various educational settings. Her capacity as a strategic thought-partner makes her an invaluable asset, as she adeptly interprets Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and integrates data-driven insights to inform decision-making processes.
In her current role as Director of Partner Operations and Implementation at Shorelight Education, Tonya is instrumental in fostering relationships and creating operational efficiencies that yield positive outcomes for students and institutions alike. She previously served as a Program Manager for the International Career Accelerator at the University of South Carolina, where she helped international students navigate career development and enhance their employability.
Tonya has also held significant positions within the South Carolina Department of Education, contributing her expertise as an Education Associate II in the Office of Adult Education, and as an ESL Instructional Coach at Education Service Center Region 13. Her multifaceted career has provided Tonya with the necessary foundation to lead educational transformation initiatives while maintaining a focus on results and engagement across all stakeholders.
Education and Achievements
Tonya Creamer’s educational journey lays the groundwork for her impressive career in education and professional development. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of South Carolina-Columbia, where her passion for language and education was ignited. Following this, she pursued her Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics at Old Dominion University, earning a TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) certificate that further equipped her for her career in education.
In addition, she completed graduate coursework in Education at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she refined her pedagogical approaches and expanded her knowledge base in instructional design. With a K-12 Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and a Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development Certification from California State University-Monterey Bay, Tonya is well-versed in student-centered instruction that is inclusive and effective, catering to diverse learning needs.
Her educational background is complemented by a commitment to continuous professional development, resulting in an extensive repertoire of skills ranging from program design to educational technology and career readiness standards. This foundation is critical as she empowers educators and students in her roles.
Notable Achievements
Among her numerous achievements, Tonya Creamer has distinguished herself as an international presenter, captivating audiences with her knowledge and effective communication skills. Her engaging presentation style is characterized by her passion for education and strong command of various topics, including technology in education and career development. Her ability to connect with diverse audiences makes her a sought-after speaker at educational conferences and seminars worldwide.
As an educator and professional development coach, Tonya has successfully facilitated programs designed to enhance cross-cultural pedagogy and support student-centered initiatives. Her tech-savvy nature is highlighted through her proficiency with an array of project management tools like Wrike and SmartSheet, as well as her expertise in data analysis with platforms such as Excel and Tableau. Furthermore, her experience in using client management systems like Salesforce and Zoho demonstrates her adaptability to evolving technological landscapes, ensuring that operational success is achieved across organizations.
As she continues to inspire and lead change within educational settings, Tonya’s focus remains on fostering collaboration and driving impactful strategies that enhance learning outcomes for students across cultures and geographies. Her mission-driven approach and agility in responsive leadership position her as a pioneering force in the education sector.
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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 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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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.
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