AI strategy, training, community, and keynote work
Build AI capacity that serves people, communities, and culture.
I help organizations move from AI pressure to practical fluency: responsible strategy, community systems, custom training, Indigenous-tech advisory, and talks that make complicated technology feel usable without sanding off the weird, human, and political edges.
This is not generic AI consulting. It is field-building work shaped by BC+AI, the Responsible AI Professional program, The Upgrade AI, and two decades of creative technology, media, and community practice.
How I Can Help
Five ways to work together, from focused advisory sprints to public keynotes and hands-on team training. Each lane can stand alone or combine into a larger engagement.
AI Strategy Consulting
For: leadership teams, associations, public-interest organizations, creative companies, and teams trying to make AI decisions without getting swallowed by hype.
What we do: map opportunities, risks, tools, workflows, governance questions, and adoption patterns that fit the real organization in front of us.
- AI readiness and opportunity map
- Responsible adoption roadmap
- Pilot backlog and decision language
Community & Ecosystem Building
For: cities, innovation groups, regional hubs, event organizers, associations, and organizations that need more than a one-off meetup.
What we do: turn scattered interest into a functioning community system: programming, partner strategy, sponsorship, communications, membership, and rituals people want to return to.
- Event-series and chapter architecture
- Partner, sponsor, and member pathways
- Community operating model and metrics
The Upgrade AI Training
For: creative, communications, media, sales, leadership, and cross-functional teams that need hands-on AI fluency rather than another abstract trend report.
What we do: live and on-demand courses, 1:1 and group coaching, team trainings, custom workflows, and practical demos that help people use AI with judgment and taste.
- AI mindset and workflow training
- Role-specific prompt and tool systems
- Team practice plans and follow-up support
Indigenous-Tech Advisory
For: Indigenous-led organizations, public-sector teams, allies, institutions, and technology groups trying to work with data, AI, and economic evidence without extractive shortcuts.
What we do: Advisory support, drawing on my 2024–25 CTO work at Indigenomics.ai, around sovereign data, dashboard strategy, AI assistants, evidence systems, respectful technology architecture, and public storytelling.
- Sovereign-data and governance questions
- Dashboard and evidence-product strategy
- AI implementation briefings and narrative systems
Keynotes, Workshops & Executive Briefings
For: conferences, festivals, leadership offsites, boards, associations, schools, creative communities, and teams that need the room to move.
What we do: keynote talks, panels, podcast guesting, moderation, emcee work, executive briefings, and hands-on workshops on AI, creativity, culture, ethics, and community.
- High-voltage keynote plus Q&A
- Keynote plus workshop packages
- Hosting, moderation, and media appearances
Engagement Models
Pricing is scoped after a short discovery call because a keynote, a board briefing, a community buildout, and a training cohort are different animals. The useful question is not “what package can I sell you?” It is “what change do we need the room, team, or ecosystem to make?”
Most engagements begin with one of these shapes and then get tightened around audience, urgency, budget, and implementation needs.
Good fit when you need
- Executive clarity on AI adoption
- A team training that produces actual workflows
- A public room that leaves smarter and braver
- A community program that can keep growing
- Protocol-aware AI and data strategy
Advisory Sprint
Two to four weeks of discovery, interviews, strategy, and a usable roadmap.
Team Training / Cohort
Half-day, full-day, or multi-week training with demos, exercises, and follow-up resources.
Ecosystem Buildout
Six to twelve weeks of program design, partner mapping, event architecture, and operating rhythms.
Keynote + Workshop
A public talk paired with a practical lab so the energy turns into action.
Proof and Source Trails
“Kris brings out the best in others and connects those around him.”
Holly Rosenfeld, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Some of the proof is public and easy to inspect: BC+AI’s current ecosystem stats, The Upgrade AI course/training surface, the Indigenomics AI writing and dashboard story, and the speaking archive. The rest is best handled in conversation because private executive work, client workshops, and Indigenous-tech advisory often need discretion.
Where Photography Fits Now
Visual storytelling is still part of the toolkit. I still understand rooms, faces, stages, social proof, and the value of a killer image. But photography is no longer the center of this services page.
Bring it in when it strengthens a keynote, training, community program, event, archive, or campaign. The main offer now is AI capacity, strategic clarity, community momentum, and rooms that leave with better instincts.