Marcus Le Clair
Hometown:
Austin, Texas
Connect: LinkedIn
Marcus is excited to help preserve and showcase the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians’ Native American art collection and explore the idea of digitizing the art for an immersive Virtual Reality museum. He believes this project is a beacon for cultural preservation but also as a catalyst for meaningful, community-driven workforce development within their tribe.
Marcus is a dynamic and innovative individual propelled by a profound passion for unravelling the intricacies of wicked challenges. Throughout Marcus’s career, he has demonstrated an exceptional ability to assemble and nurture diverse teams, effectively manage projects across wide range of spectrums, and consistently employ a human-centric leadership approach. Recognizing that connecting with consumers and fostering a collaborative team environment hinge on understanding human dynamics, Marcus has become a seasoned practitioner of this philosophy.
In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, Marcus excels by leveraging his diverse professional background, intuitive insights, and a data-driven approach. His strength lies in crafting, refining, and scaling strategies that fuel innovation, while acknowledging the challenges posed by a world of subtlety. Having worked globally, Marcus has uncovered unique insights that empower organizations to make informed, high-quality decisions in a rapidly changing environment.
With a rich portfolio spanning tech start-ups, non-profits, private clients, media agencies, and global brands, Marcus embodies the values of boldness, continuous learning, and self-challenge. Joining the Economic Recovery Corps, he is poised to contribute significantly, applying his wealth of experiences to drive impactful economic recovery strategies and shape a resilient, adaptive future.
ERC Project
Project Title:
Saving the World’s Third Largest Native American Art Collection
Host Community or Region:
Oklahoma
Host Organization:
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
In collaboration with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, this project aims to preserve the world's third-largest Native American art collection in Tahlequah, Okla. through the creation of a Virtual Reality Museum. As the smallest tribe receiving few federal funding, the project engages tribal members in digital skills development through culturally significant initiatives. This project builds needed knowledge about culturally relevant, community and home-based learning using technology based in tribal artifact preservation for workforce development. The ERC fellow plays a crucial role in transporting, cataloging, photographing, and digitizing the art collection, collaborating closely with stakeholders. Covering 14-county boundaries of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the project spans collection management, digital conversion, Virtual Reality development, community engagement, and educational outreach. This project impacts the entire Cherokee community by preserving and disseminating Native American heritage through immersive technology, fostering cultural understanding, and empowering learning in reservation schools.
Interested in supporting this project or learning more? Contact the ERC program team here.
