Christian Herbie Clarke

Associate Director | Project Manager | Designer | AI Integration

Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area, Mt. Pleasant, Utah

2016 - present

• Award Administration + Fund Management: Managing all grants from start to finish, including pre-award and post-award administration, applications, task agreements, reimbursements, and drawdowns. Overseeing ASAP (Automated Standard Application for Payments) drawdowns for federal funds, working with UORG and UDOT for state reimbursements, and ensuring compliance reporting. Managing $500,000 annually in federal funds and currently overseeing $5+ million across 10+ projects as grant administrator. My experience managing director salaries, contractor payments, and ensuring proper fund documentation and allocation, combined with my advanced computer technical skills, provides the foundation for quickly mastering Orbit/Oracle financial systems. My experience tracking project time, managing direct costs, indirect costs, and other direct costs across all projects and awards translates to understanding PVRs (time and effort commitments). My cost share management experience, including matching fund oversight and ensuring funds are properly documented and not misallocated, applies to IDC waivers.
• Nonprofit Administration: Preparing and filing IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit documents, maintaining legal compliance, and structuring agreements to meet both state and federal requirements.
• Compliance + Agreements: Writing and executing all task agreements, overseeing scopes of work, and ensuring every project is completed as promised. Stepping in to fix errors, resolving compliance issues, and rebuilding relationships with agencies and partners when problems arise.
• Reporting: Authoring all annual reports to the National Park Service (NPS), the Alliance of National Heritage Areas (ANHA), and partner organizations. Preparing monthly and quarterly reports for state and federal grants.
• Cross-Sector Collaboration: Working seamlessly with federal, state, local, private, and nonprofit organizations, maintaining positive relationships, meeting deadlines, and ensuring accountability across all projects.
• Funding Leverage + Impact: Leverage $5.4 million in NPS funding into $67 million in grassroots preservation, recreation, and cultural development projects across six rural Utah counties (Sanpete, Sevier, Piute, Wayne, Garfield, Kane).
• Outreach + Communications: Leading communications and outreach with cities, counties, nonprofits, and community organizations. Managing Discovery Road, the MPNHA's award-winning documentary series aired statewide through public broadcasting and education networks.
• Project Oversight: Overseeing dozens of multi-year projects each year, including historic preservation, trail systems, museums, recreation facilities, and community revitalization efforts. Providing technical assistance to local governments and ensuring projects stay within scope and budget.
• Historic Preservation: Working with Mt. Pleasant City to provide grant funds and implement restorations to maintain historic buildings and sites within the Mt. Pleasant Historic Overlay Zone. Creating and submitting nominations for historic properties to the National Register of Historic Places from start to finish.
• Design + Marketing: Designing marketing materials, spreadsheets, documents, agendas, book covers, and other materials for the Heritage Area.
• AI Systems Integration: Designing, implementing, and maintaining AI-assisted workflows, automations, and internal tools, including custom local and web-based software that supports grant administration, budgeting, compliance, reporting, communications, design, web development, and documentation. Using AI as a human-directed system to augment existing professional expertise, accelerate complex administrative and creative work, improve consistency and accuracy, and support scalability across all responsibilities without replacing core decision-making or accountability.

Artist | Designer | AI Creative Technologist

Herbie Creative | herbiecreative.com

2015 - present

• Exhibiting work nationally (see Exhibitions).
• Interdisciplinary Practice: Maintaining an interdisciplinary art, design, application, and web development practice integrating fine arts, digital media, fabrication, web design, web applications, experiential design, and AI as an integral toolset within the creative and technical workflow.
• Graduate Education: Pursued graduate studies in Painting, Digital Art, and Art plus Machine Learning at the University of Chicago, with focused training in creative and generative machine learning.
• Academic Collaboration: Collaborating with Dr. James A. Evans, Max Palevsky Professor of Sociology and Director of the Knowledge Lab at the University of Chicago, contributing original artwork, data visualizations, and illustrations for computational social science research.
• Publications: Producing visual artwork and illustrations for academic publications, including Osiris, Volume 38: Beyond Craft and Code, Human and Algorithmic Cultures, Past and Present, edited by James A. Evans and Adrian Johns.
• Research + Visual Systems: Creating visual design, research graphics, and computational artwork in collaboration with University of Chicago faculty including James Evans and Jason Salavon.
• AI Tools + Creative Workflows: Applying AI across ideation, drafting, iteration, design exploration, coding support, automation, and production workflows. Primary LLM surface area: Gemini / Google AI (Veo, Workspace), Grok (xAI), ChatGPT / OpenAI (DALL·E, Sora), Claude (Anthropic); plus RunwayML, Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Cursor IDE, Suno, and Murf AI. See Skills for complete details.
• AI Systems + Development: Designing and building custom AI-enabled workflows using APIs, prompt engineering, and human-in-the-loop evaluation, including local utilities, AI-powered web applications, creative tools, and interactive systems.
• Creative Production + Clients: Developing large-scale experiential installations and computational artwork for clients including Nike, WNDR Museum, SMART Museum, Capital One, Beverly Center Mall, and TV and film productions.
• Collaboration + Study: Collaborating and studying with leading artists, machine learning researchers, and fabrication studios, including Maureen O'Hara Ure, Edward Bateman, Jason Salavon, James Evans, Katherine Desjardins, Michael Todd Smith, Christopher Bowles, and Bridgewater Studio.
• Publishing: Publishing in academic, artistic, and industry media.

Digital Lead | Full-Stack Web (PHP, MySQL) | Multi-Channel Content | Generative AI Integration

Jeannie Evans for U.S. Senate (Illinois)

2026

• Public website revamp & technical SEO: Took over an existing, basic candidate landing page and rebuilt it into a more complete public WordPress site with stronger information architecture, additional pages, improved UI / visual system, new interactive elements, and campaign-supporting tools and features. Owned technical SEO remediation, structured metadata, and Core Web Vitals–oriented performance tuning (Google Lighthouse), moving the site from effectively minimal SEO to near-perfect scores. Documented March 2026 audits: SEO score 78 → 98, performance 60 → 94, first paint ~3.8s → ~0.8s, accessibility 76 → 88.
• Multi-channel organic growth & marketing analytics: Measured Feb 2 – Mar 24, 2026 vs. prior baselines (Meta Business Suite, TikTok Creator, X Analytics / API exports). Combined Facebook organic post views, Instagram content views, TikTok video views, and X impressions ~72,000 across tracked surfaces. Representative KPI deltas: Facebook organic views ~10.3K → ~46.5K (+351%), interactions 220 → 2,102 (+855%), posts 66 vs. 8 in the comparison batch; Instagram views ~3.3K → ~8.8K (+167%), interactions 72 → 412 (+472%); TikTok launched from zero, ~8.5K video views in-window; X impressions 512 → 8,345 (+1,530%), engagements 18 → 5,545, posts 4 → 97 (organic content; paid media managed separately). Methodology and source data.
• Content creation, social media & creative production: Hands-on video editing and motion for feed and short-form (Reels/TikTok-style); image editing and graphic design (static and motion assets); social copy, captions, long-form editorial, and ad creative, owned end-to-end through publish and aligned to brand guidelines. Logo and identity package. Creative cadence paired with documented organic performance (see analytics bullet). Human-in-the-loop generative AI for drafting and iteration sat alongside hands-on creative control. Internal automation (post tracking, metrics ingestion, cron-driven jobs; see full-stack bullet) kept production organized and measurable.
• Full-stack internal product & data integration: Built custom online and workflow software for the team, centered on a secure PHP application backed by MySQL (PDO) for agendas, shared to-dos, resource libraries, social post tracking, SEO report views, and cron-driven jobs. Authentication uses PHP sessions, a team password gate, and Google OAuth for individual sign-in. Pulled X metrics via X API v2 (HTTP/JSON API) and consolidated them with Meta, Instagram, and TikTok exports into unified internal reporting.
• Generative AI in production workflows: Wired the dashboard to LLM APIs from OpenAI (Chat Completions) and xAI Grok, supporting social and editorial drafting, variants, and analysis, with prompt engineering and human-in-the-loop review before anything shipped. Parallel chat-native workflows on Gemini / Google AI, ChatGPT, and Claude for research and iteration. Same pipeline supported high-volume organic content alongside the creative edits above. Coordinated with the client on priorities, approvals, and editorial cadence.

Director | Main Street Coordinator | AI integration

Mt. Pleasant City Main Street Program

2023 - present

• Main Street Program Direction: Leading revitalization efforts for Mt. Pleasant's historic Main Street, aligning projects with Main Street America standards and Utah Main Street Program best practices.
• Grant Administration: Securing funding and coordinating state and local grants supporting historic preservation, construction, recreation, and community development projects, including budgeting, restoration oversight, documentation, and closeout.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Working directly with business owners, property owners, city officials, and preservation partners to develop long-term, sustainable downtown revitalization strategies.
• Program Alignment: Aligning local Main Street program organization, governance, and practice with Main Street America standards and operational requirements.
• Certified Local Government (CLG) Coordination: Coordinating CLG grants and preservation initiatives in collaboration with SHPO and the Utah Division of State History.
• Project Oversight: Working with property owners to ensure signage, rehabilitation, and restoration projects meet approved scopes of work and Secretary of the Interior standards.
• Compliance and Reimbursements: Verifying matching funds, submitting reimbursement requests, and maintaining compliance reporting across multiple state agencies.
• AI Systems Integration: Designing, building, and applying AI-enabled systems across the Main Street Program to support grant writing, compliance documentation, reimbursements, project management, communications, design, web development, and internal automation, using AI as a human-directed toolset integrated into all aspects of the role.

Utah Main Street Program Coordinator

Utah Main Street Program, State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) Department of Community and Cultural Engagement, State of Utah

2022 - 2023

• Oversaw the program as the coordinating director of the Utah Main Street Program which consists of 16 Main Street Districts across the State of Utah, including rural and urban main streets.
• Led efforts to streamline the entire Utah Main Street Program organization, to develop new designation standards, a more effective tier system, new grant programs, updated applications and contracts, and other program improvements.
• Awarded $150,000 in new Main Street Program grants and administered over $150,000 in projects from previously awarded grant funds.
• Orchestrated first phase of the Utah Main Street re-brand, including personally designing new visual assets, including print and web content, following State of Utah standards and style guides in coordination with the department graphic design team.
• Held an indispensable role in efforts to increase the budget for historic preservation grants by $5 million while staying within ethical boundaries as a state employee.

Founder + Director

Southspace, Gallery and Learning Center, Chicago, Illinois | www.southspacecreative.com

2021 - 2023

• Founded and operated an interdisciplinary creative space, merging art, technology, and education.
• Curated exhibitions, workshops, and public programming, focusing on AI-driven creativity, fabrication, and immersive experiences.
• Led partnerships with artists, faculty, and professionals, organizing community engagement projects.
• Managed space operations, including budgeting, grant writing, and program development.

Resident Head

The University of Chicago, Housing and Residence Life, Chicago, Illinois

2019 - 2023

• Led a residential community of more than 100 undergraduate students, living on-site to ensure a safe, engaging, and academically supportive environment.
• Mentored and trained a staff of 2–3 Resident Assistants (RAs), developing leadership programs, team coordination, and conflict resolution strategies.
• Planned and executed cultural, educational, and wellness programs, working closely with faculty and university leadership.
• Provided crisis management and direct student support, including mediation, emergency response, and ongoing personal and academic guidance.

Artist | Fabricator | Carpenter | Painter

Bridgewater Studio, Chicago, Illinois

2018 - 2019

• Built and finished large and small structures using blueprints from engineers.
• Implemented knowledge and skills to interpolate plans when blueprints were inadequate.
• Worked in diverse teams to construct complex artistic and corporate exhibition pieces.
• Contributed to fabricating and installing high-profile experiential installations for major clients including Nike, WNDR Museum, Capital One, SMART Museum, Beverly Center Mall, DICK'S Sporting Goods, and TV/film productions.
• Specialized in interactive and experiential installations, combining fabrication skills with integrated technology builds and finishing work.

See detailed project portfolio: View Installations

Assistant to Mt. Pleasant City Main Street Director

Mt. Pleasant City Main Street Committee/CDRA

2016 - 2017

• Coordinated CLG grants.
• Worked with building owners to ensure that signage was in place, the scope of work was implemented, and the Secretary of the Interior standards were maintained.
• Confirmed matching funds were documented and reimbursement requests were properly submitted to the Utah Division of State History and SHPO.

Studio Art Faculty | Grades 7 | 12

Wasatch Academy, Mt. Pleasant, Utah

2017 - 2018

• Taught international and local students.
• Planned and taught studio art curriculum and experiential learning.
• Assessed students learning progress and provided individualized instruction, grading, and feedback.

Shop Technician

Wood shop, Department of Art and Art History, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

2014 - 2016

• Expanded knowledge and practical implementation of woodworking techniques and wood shop safety procedures.
• Supervised wood shop to ensure students followed shop procedures and rules, used proper techniques, and worked in the shop safely.

Flight Training | Cessna 172 Skyhawk

Price, Utah - Larry Newby Flight Instructor

2012

• Completed comprehensive flight training in Cessna 172 Skyhawk aircraft
• Passed Private Pilot written examination covering aviation regulations, meteorology, and aerodynamics
• Demonstrated proficiency in aircraft systems, navigation, and flight operations
• Developed expertise in weather analysis, atmospheric physics, and meteorological decision-making
• Mastered aerodynamics, flight physics, weight and balance calculations, and performance planning
• Gained experience in air traffic control communications, radio procedures, and flight planning
• Proficient in VOR navigation systems and complex avionics operation
• Demonstrated ability to operate extremely complex machines and vehicles safely
• Developed skills in complex technical systems, safety protocols, and precision operations
• Gained experience in multi-tasking, spatial awareness, and decision-making under pressure