Welcome to In Her Words, New York Festivals Lady Liberty’s monthly interview series celebrating women innovators across the industry. As part of the Lady Liberty Leadership Program, the series offers audiences an opportunity to connect with the voices, ideas, and experiences shaping today’s creative landscape through thoughtful conversations, personal reflections, and an evolving monthly focus.

Meet Clare Daly, Client Services Executive at Whaler.

Clare is a creator economy specialist who has a hand in all corners of the internet. Yes, even the weird ones. In my experience nurturing the online homes of various niches, fandoms, and industries. She has reinforced her natural adaptability and cultivated a strong sense of cultural memory when working on influencer and social campaigns. Clare is motivated not only by impressive campaign stats or massive followings, but by the opportunities to foster genuine, lasting relationships between brands and creators of all sizes and to connect with their dedicated communities.

Lady Liberty: What’s something about you that isn’t widely known, but really shapes who you are or what drives you?

Clare Daly: I’m an open book, so there isn’t much about me that I don’t share with the internet, honestly. I’d say something that shapes and drives me is the creativity of others. It’s a basic answer, but I’m motivated by seeing folks make movies, paint, and post on social without needing permission or approval from others. I find that I struggle with that, so reminding myself that others do it every day is helpful.

Lady Liberty: What does creativity mean to you today, personally and professionally?

Clare Daly: Personally, creativity is my driving force. Every facet of my life is met with the question of how I can make it unique or interesting. It helps me get excited about the mundane things and keeps me excited about things I love to do. I’d say it’s a driving force for me, professionally, as well. In influencer marketing, there’s always the looming pressure of making this next campaign more intriguing than the last, so being able to think outside the box and sell that idea to brands is a great skill to have, even in an executional role.

Lady Liberty: How is AI changing the way you approach creativity? And where do you draw the line between it as a tool and your own creative thinking?

Clare Daly: AI is driving me towards opportunities to work with artists as much as possible, and continue to challenge the limits of my own thinking. I think it’s easy to doubt your own creativity or knowledge when this thing seemingly has all the world’s info available to it. That said, I’ve used it for organizational tasks, and it does help. So it definitely has value as a tool there. But it’s important to remember that the AI model got that information from human minds, many of whom stopped at nothing to satisfy their curiosity.