Museum & Cultural Institution Executive
Matt Briney
I run communications for cultural institutions — and I build the software they run on. Twenty years of brand, audience, and revenue work, most recently at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, which opened in the North Dakota Badlands in July 2026. Along the way: two AI products in production and roughly 25 in-house tools that cost nothing to host.
Currently
We opened a presidential library in the Badlands.
As CCMO at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, I led communications through a July 4, 2026 opening that drew a sitting President, 1,776 drones over the Badlands, and coverage from the AP to Architectural Digest. The work now is what comes after — turning a national moment into a sustained audience.
Reporting to the CEO on a $1.3M budget, having built the communications function from zero. Before this: ten years at George Washington’s Mount Vernon leading a 13-person department on a $2.5M budget, reporting to the President & CEO.
Communications & Brand
Press center, press kit, and spokesperson duties through an opening covered by the AP, Reuters, the New York Times, NPR, and CNN.
Audience & Revenue
Membership, annual giving, ticketing, and e-commerce — plus an automated visitor-lifecycle program unifying six source systems.
Digital & Interpretive
Two AI products in production, permanent exhibition digital components, and ~25 in-house tools running on zero servers.
Selected work
Twenty years of cultural institutions, content systems, and audience growth.
How I think about the work
Two pieces worth more than a résumé line.
For executive search & speaking inquiries
Looking for a CMO, CDO, or executive director?
Twenty years across museums, agencies, and a presidential library — brand, digital products, audience & revenue, and AI in production. Happy to talk.
Off the clock
Dallas-based. Hiking, hosting, and the long view.
When I’m not running a presidential library’s communications, my wife Julie and I are out on a trail somewhere, hosting a watch party for Formula 1 or Texas A&M, or chasing a weekend in the Hill Country. I’m also tinkering on side projects — a virtual passport built from my TripIt history, an AI-driven family-tree research engine, and whatever else catches my attention.
