vcharlene.com
Hi, I'm Charlene.
I believe AI should help us
become more human, not less.
Over the past year I've been exploring one question: what if AI could help us carry a little less — so we have more capacity for what matters most? Every week I build real AI systems for real people and share what I learn along the way. Welcome to AI in the Wild.
Why I Build
Technology is not the hero.
People are.
I don't build AI because I love technology. I mean, I do love technology — but that's not why I do this.
I build AI because I love solving problems for real people. And over the past year, I've noticed something: the people I care about most — clients, friends, family, my own kids — are all carrying too much. Mental load. Context that gets lost. Communication that takes longer than it should. Decisions that pile up.
AI can't fix any of that on its own. But when it's designed thoughtfully, around how people actually live and work, it can help carry a little of the weight. And that little bit of breathing room? That's where real life happens.
That's what I'm exploring every week. Not AI as a buzzword. AI as a tool that quietly makes room for what matters most.
AI in the Wild
Real problems.
Real people.
Real AI.
I got tired of asking, "What can AI do?"
So I started asking a different question instead: who could this help?
Every story here starts with a real problem — something I'm dealing with, something a client is stuck on, something a friend mentioned over coffee. The technology is never the point. The point is whether it actually helped.
Some of these worked beautifully. Some were humbling. All of them taught me something. If one of them helps you solve a problem in your own life, then it was worth sharing.
The technology changes.
The goal doesn't.
To help people carry a little less, so they have more capacity for what matters most.
Learn With Me
AI doesn't have to be overwhelming.
I'm not here to teach you about large language models or prompt engineering theory. I'm here to help you figure out where AI could actually make your life a little easier — and then show you how to get there. My workshops are practical, low-hype, and designed around real life.
- What AI is (and isn't)
- How to have better conversations with AI
- Simple ways to use AI in everyday life
- The differences between ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini
- How to build prompts that actually work
- Design your own Executive Dashboard
- Organize projects, meetings, and priorities
- Capture ideas so nothing gets lost
- Build daily and weekly planning routines
- Turn AI into a true thinking partner
- Build your own Household COO
- Create meal planning and grocery systems
- Organize family schedules
- Build routines that actually stick
- Capture household information in one place
- Capture your child's unique learning style
- Build an AI coach around their strengths
- Support goals, routines, and accountability
- Improve communication
- Create encouragement that feels personal
Who I Am
I didn't start in marketing technology. I started in mathematics. At the University of Illinois, I studied math alongside web publishing and computer science — which tells you something about how my brain works. I've always been the person who sees patterns and immediately wants to build a system around them.
After finishing my MBA at Middle Tennessee State University, I spent the better part of two decades doing the thing I'd figured out I was good at: helping organizations connect their marketing goals to the technology and processes that could actually deliver them. Not the theoretical version. The real, messy, cross-functional, "why does this campaign fire at 2am" version.
I've worked inside companies and alongside them as a consultant. I've led teams, run RFP processes, rebuilt marketing operations from the ground up, and sat in more platform migration planning sessions than I can count. I've been the person who knows both the strategy and the technical architecture — which, honestly, is still a rare combination in this space.
These days I'm a Principal Consultant at Slalom, where I lead MarTech transformations and Agile marketing programs for enterprise clients. I'm also building things on the side — AI experiments, productivity systems, a print-on-demand business called CopperBoom — because the best way I learn is by actually doing the work.
Outside of all that: I'm a mom, an entrepreneur, a coffee enthusiast, a lover of 90s R&B, a foster and adoptive parent, and someone who genuinely believes technology should make real life simpler and more meaningful. Not just corporate life. Real life.
Enterprise Consulting
Selected work highlights
Not a resume. A few projects worth talking about — the ones that were genuinely hard, that changed how I think, or that I'm still proud of a few years later.
The challenge
Migrating hundreds of customer journeys and campaigns from Iterable to Braze. The requirements-gathering phase alone — manually reviewing each campaign, logging audience logic, mapping data dependencies — was going to take months. That kind of work is slow, inconsistent, and burns out the people doing it.
What we built
- Connected Claude directly to Iterable to read live journeys on demand
- Built standardized Confluence templates Claude auto-populated
- Created a Catalog Exporter to map product data for Braze
- End-to-end: Iterable → Claude → Confluence, no manual copy-paste
What happened
- ~80% reduction in documentation effort per journey
- Hundreds of campaigns documented automatically
- Consistent, structured output across the whole team
- Engineering no longer needed for data catalog audits
The challenge
A global brand with fragmented marketing technology, no consistent operating model, and marketing and technology teams that weren't working in sync. They needed more than a platform upgrade — they needed a new way of operating.
What we did
- MarTech transformation strategy and platform consolidation
- Governance framework design for marketing operations
- Operating model redesign for cross-functional teams
- Agile transformation with squad coaching and enablement
What mattered
This one was a reminder that technology is rarely the actual problem. The platform was fine. The way teams were working together — and the lack of shared processes, ownership, and visibility — was where the friction lived.
The challenge
Building a marketing automation platform that could serve dozens of dealerships with personalized, timely communication — without requiring each location to manage their own campaigns from scratch.
What we built
- Enterprise-scale automation platform for 50+ dealerships
- 3,500+ personalized campaign variations
- Scalable architecture that could grow without rebuilding
- Hands-off execution at the dealership level
The real win
Scale without chaos. When you get the architecture right, adding the 51st dealership doesn't require a new project — it's just configuration. That kind of system thinking is what I love most about this work.
The challenge
Lennox needed a real enterprise marketing automation capability — not just a platform, but the strategy, structure, and governance to actually use it at scale across 18 business units.
What changed
- Campaign output grew from 12 → 110+ segmented lifecycle emails per month
- 72% year-over-year revenue increase through automation programs
- Full Marketo implementation with Salesforce integration
- Lead generation strategy for retail and dealer segments
What I learned
The difference between 12 emails a month and 110 isn't more people — it's the right architecture. When automation is designed well, it multiplies what a lean team can actually do.
Let's Connect
I'd love to hear from you.
Whether you're working through a MarTech challenge, curious what AI could do for your team or your family, want to chat about a workshop, or just want to connect with someone who actually loves this stuff — reach out.
No pitch deck required. No agenda. Just a conversation.