Main Staff Staff Positions Calendar Volunteer Gallery
Department Head/Administration Manager/Senior Staff – Spider
Spider is responsible for the personnel, budget and other administrative tasks throughout the year. He oversees the administrative branch of the department, and works with the other department managers on all other planning and operational tasks. He is a member of the Playa Safety Council and is responsible for department participation in Senior Staff, Law Enforcement, and other Burning Man Staff meetings. Spider works alongside C-load and Moebius to oversee all strategic planning in the department and to represent the department to the Burning Man Board and Senior Staff throughout the year. He gets a lot of email and goes to a lot of meetings.
Spider has been attending the Burning Dude event since 2000. He's not quite sure how he became Department Manager for the Gate, but is pretty sure that it was a huge accident and that someone is going to be really pissed off when they finally figure it out. When not at the Gate or the Black Hole, Spider can often be found at Jiffy Lube.
Spider is openly bi-continental and can be easily plied with gifts of quality vodka and champagne. His hobbies include 3-legged Chihuahua's, naughty clowns, playing with symbols that he should oughta know better than to play with, unicorns, cuddling, long walks in the rain, and bloodsport.
Spider used to be punk once.
Gate Operations Manager – C-load
C-load oversees the planning, design, and construction of anything outside the Burning Man trash fence. This includes Gate Road, the layout and set up of the Gate, and the specification and construction of needed materials and structures. He oversees the operations branch of the department, which is responsible for the strategic and operations planning and also includes coordinating with DPW on set up. C-load works along side Spider and Moebius to oversee all strategic planning in the department and to represent the department to the Burning Man Board and Senior Staff throughout the year.
C-load is the youngest of three and the oldest of none. Tall for his height, old for his age, and bright for his wattage. C-load has been the muscle behind the sphincter of BRC for more than 10 years. This golden boy of misspent youth is not only a capable leader, he is a 16th lvl barbian (bitches...what?!?). He likes long days building and longer nights saving the world from knolls, basilisks, dragons, and hippies...
"GATE STAPH POR VIDA"
Perimeter Operations Manager/Senior Staff - Moebius
Moebius oversees all of the Perimeter operations and crew. He resolves higher-level incidents on Perimeter and works as a Perimeter Shift Lead when necessary. He is a member of the Playa Safety Council and attends Law Enforcement and Senior Staff meetings. Moebius works along side Cload and Spider to oversee all strategic planning in the department and to represent the department to the Burning Man Board and Senior Staff throughout the year.
His first Burning Man was in 1995, when drawn by a Cacophony society newsletter he headed out into the unknown (armed with only shish kebabs for sustenance). The next year, Moebius returned, unveiling the 'Frequency Publica' public access radio station. Starting in 1997 Moebius worked with the rangers, forming (with Hail Mary) the 'Burn Activity Team' or BATS, responsible for perimeter security for fire events.
At some point in the dark of a night in 1997, 'The Perimeter' called, urging Moebius to head to the verge of Black Rock City to experience the event from another angle. Moebius continued his activities with the BATS for a time, but eventually became the full time manager of 'Perimeter' taking it from a part-time (albeit effective) operation to a 24x7 department with upwards of 100 staff.
After 13 years, Moebius continues to return, drawn by the friendship and energy of the amazing Burning Man staff.
Assistant Administration Manager/Volunteer Coordinator – Kristy
Kristy works directly with Spider and the other department managers throughout the year on the administrative, organizational and strategic planning tasks of the department. She and Spider are responsible for department communications throughout the year (read: sending lots of emails to staff, volunteers, and email lists), budgeting, and interdepartmental coordination. She is the first point of contact for new volunteers, answering questions and working to develop and maintain new volunteer relationships. She oversees the scheduling process, assists with the manual and training process, maintains volunteer information, and tracks volunteer and staff involvement in the department. She leads the VC Team and provides oversight to the Support Services Team. She is the co-administrator of the department’s email lists with Garzan.
Kristy first attended Burning Man in 2003, and in 2005 she decided she wanted to volunteer for the man. Recalling the moment in 2003 when, after months of planning, she finally arrived on playa, she can still picture that very first person who welcomed her into the city. She knew without question that Gate was where she wanted to be, to be that first person to welcome others. Plus, searching is fun.
Seeing that there was much work to do in the department, she offered to help out with some of the year round tasks. She was thrown in head first in 2007 to help with some of those pesky ‘organizing’ and ‘management’ tasks that everyone loves so much. She continues in this role today, ever trying to make sense out of the chaos. It is her long-term goal to make hot pink the (un)official Gate color. She believes she is making progress.
Kristy’s non-Gate endeavors include running away with circus freaks, searching for funky socks on the internet, arguing over who makes the best vegan food in town, perfecting her taste for Bourbon, and figuring out what she wants to be when she grows up.
Exodus Operations Manager – BlueCross
BlueCross manages everything Exodus. With the help of the rest of the Gate Management Team, he is responsible for the success of Exodus operations, from set-up through clean-up. His core responsibilities include the design, implementation and management of Exodus operations, shift staffing, set-up of signage and cones, and clean-up when it is all done. He is the primary point of contact for planning questions off-playa and operational questions on-playa, and provides ongoing information about the status of the Exodus Operation to other departments, core Burning Man leadership, and to BMIR.
BlueCross first attended Burning Man in 2001 on a dare from his mom. He has been going back every year since then.
BlueCross was first a member of the Rangers (2001), then a supervisor for the Emergency Department of the Rangers (2002), and then was a Medical Chief for ESD (2003-2005). He has served on the DMV Council, and as the Exodus Manager is now the newest addition to the venerable Department of Gate, Perimeter and Exodus. His passion is for figuring out how to get 50,000 people down a rural 2-lane Nevada Highway.
He has been known to answer to the following names: BlueCross, Jew Fro, Blue Jew, Blue Fro, Jew Cross, Sick Boy and Strangell. BlueCross loves traffic cones, stop/slow paddles, his motorcycle, desert racing and sushi. He hopes to own a Trophy Truck one day.
Technology Manager/Security Architect – Entropy/jeph
As the Technology Manager, Entropy is responsible for the creation and implementation of Gate technology. He oversees the Technology Team and manages the early arrivals system both pre-event and on playa. His team is also responsible for the creation and management of the shift scheduling system. He serves as the communication liaison, and assists with strategic planning during the year. As the Security Manager, he performs an advisory role, doing a variety of tasks involving developing efficient and fair Gate policies, representing the Gate in ticket security issues, offering management insight, and other general things that help keep the department running smoothly.
jeph spends a lot of time staring at LCD screens. He seems generally obsessed with security and has been testing the loopholes in everything around him since he was about 5. He's been working with the BRC Gate and Perimeter teams since 2001 in a bunch of different roles. When jeph isn't doing stuff for BRC he puts in time helping plan Yuri's Night Bay Area and a camp at the Autonomous Mutant Festival. When he has a few spare minutes, he can be found fiddling around with audio production equipment, [REDACTED], or outside smoking. In his professional life he does something with computer security and probably works for himself, since he seems to sleep late rather often. Even though he's a big dork, we keep him around because once in a while he makes us laugh.
Manager on Duty – Department Senior Managers, Grover, Dirty Sanchez, Athibat, Wilde Childe
The Manager on Duty is responsible for on-playa department operations on a per-shift basis. The MOD serves as the primary interface for Senior Staff and law enforcement, works as a Shift Lead Manager as necessary, and handles higher level situations and radio calls. Those serving in the MOD role are part of the general department planning team throughout the year and assist with the development of department operations.
Lot Manager – Wilde Childe
Wilde Childe has dominion over “D” and Will Call lots. He trains prospective volunteers and staff to become Shift Lead Managers. Works directly with Placement Team and Rangers to sort through participants sent to “D” lot for problems, and expedites participants’ entrance into BRC if possible. He is responsible for maintaining order and strives to ensure a safe environment in the lots for team members and participants alike. Wilde Childe handles scalpers and participants involved in any other activities not allowed on the lot grounds by BRC, LLC involving Law Enforcement only as necessary. Assists Shift Lead Manager A (acting as an additional Shift Lead Manager as necessary).
Marshall first came to Burning Man five years ago and was welcomed "home." Little did they know that Marshall's family settled in the Black Rock Desert many years past. His first year, he volunteered for Gate and found a family in which he belonged. Marshall's responsibilities have grown and he now manages the D-Lot and Will Call Lot.
Marshall has the ability to tell someone to go to Hell so that they look forward to the trip. He enjoys long drives in the desert and had a lustrous career as a professional water boarder.
Gate Shift Lead Managers – Naked Bob, Dirty Sanchez, Athibat, Wilde Childe, Moose, Daddy, Gerbil, eXit Wound, Malice, Aristotle, Paul, Mute, Moshe
The Gate Shift Lead Manager oversees on-playa Gate operations on a per-shift basis, managing the team of volunteers working on their shift. Shift Lead Managers direct all activities of the Gate and perform all aspects of basic Gate Operations (traffic directing, ticket tearing/searching, dissemination of information, etc.). They coordinate search teams, point, tower, Lot Manager, and Support Services teams, working with the Support Services crew on training and placement of the volunteers. They resolve and troubleshoot problems and conflicts at the Gate, and serve as the main point of contact on radio for other Burning Man departments. The Shift Lead Manager A will serve as the main Shift Lead Manager. Shift Lead Manager B will also perform all of the duties of the Shift Lead position but will work to support Shift Lead Manager A.
Perimeter Shift Lead Managers – Grover, Garzan, Rabbi, Timber, Crybaby, Ziptie, diVIne, Urethra, Lefty
The Perimeter Shift Lead Manager oversees on-playa Perimeter operations on a per-shift basis, managing the team of volunteers working on their shift. They perform all responsibilities of standard Perimeter operations, monitor and participate in intercepts and Perimeter patrols, and resolve and troubleshoot problems. They coordinate with other departments and law enforcement as needed.
Support Services Managers – Miss Roach and Cornhole
Miss Roach and Cornhole supervise and train the Support Services Team, and manage the implementation of the Support Services program/position. They work directly with Shift Lead Managers to ensure that the on-shift Gate crew are trained/mentored and placed properly, get adequate breaks, and are generally taken care of. As Support Services they assist Shift Leads in the transportation of crew to and from shifts. They work with the Shift Lead Managers to confirm that volunteers check in/out of their shifts, and make sure those volunteers are given credit for the shifts. Roach and Cornhole, along with the Support Services Team, will help to assess how volunteers are doing on shift and their ability to follow Gate procedures.
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