The AI Shade Tree
Mechanic School
Learn to build practical, economical, reliable AI systems that work.
#EverydayAI courses for people with real work, little money
and no time.
Series Overview
- Comms/marketing pros, nonprofit communicators, organizers, analysts, and builders who want hands-on control, not hype.
- New to this? Perfect. I teach like a human, not a gatekeeper—plain language, zero attitude, shade-tree vibe.
- Bring your work. We’ll use your briefs, lists, and data as the lab.
Bottom line: No abstract demos. You work on your own data and leave with a system designed for you, by you.
Format: Bot School is a short, shared kickoff (one focused session). Tracks run 3-4 weeks, 90 minutes live each week.
Cohort size: 1–5 people, so you actually get feedback.
BYOD: Bring your best personal or company writing, presentations, press releases, spreadsheets, PDFs, memos, policy pages, analytics data, survey responses, CRM exports—your materials become the lab.
Deliverables: reusable templates for an analysis bot; schemas and SOPs; and a working
mini-system built on your data.
We install a few habits that make everything else easier—without the jargon:
- Start with clarity. Know what “good” looks like before you ask for it.
- Do it right the first time. Two ways to create more reliable responses from the beginning.
- Clean inputs. A little prep turns chaos into signal.
- Tight constraints. Smaller asks, better answers, less drift.
- Test in loops. Try, check, adjust—then scale.
- Respect the data. Simple, safe practices that travel well.
Classes starting in '26
Upcoming Classes
Voter Targeting and Generative Persuasion
Build a lightweight targeting matrix, a message-by-segment testing loop and a generative persuasion kit that is safe enough for campaigns without million-dollar budgets.
Pricing
- Small Group (≤5):
- $599/person (early cohort; list $795)
- 1:1 Intensive, 3 nights, back to back, work till we drop each night:
- $1,950 (early cohort; $1500/person)
- Optional Team: $6000 for 5 org or company team members in an intensive "train the trainer"setting (early cohort; $4000 for five (5) people).