Danger Ranger is Burning Man's Director of Genetic Programming. Some claim he possesses near borderline supernatural powers, including the ability to bi-locate and appear at two places simultaneously. In 1992 he founded the Black Rock Rangers. He also created the first Burning Man mailing list/database, produced the first issue of the Black Rock Gazette, established the Burning Man Archive, and drove the first art car to the Black Rock Desert. Michael functions as the guiding light of San Francisco's famous Cacophony Society. His Silicon Valley career began with Fairchild Semiconductor just a few years before it gave birth to Intel. After 1984, he served as a robotics consultant to Apple Computer and later engineered the rise (and fall) of Jasmine Computer Systems. Always riding the edge, he contributed to the Mondo2000 house in Berkeley and wired Wired Magazine's first office in San Francisco. His wide range of experiences includes having been a combat veteran in Vietnam and a federal fugitive in the United States. Other past activities include involvement with the machine performance group Survival Research Laboratories. Throughout the year, M2 lends his guidance and wisdom to navigate Burning Man into the future.
Chef Daniel, a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, is a veteran of 23 Burns, having first Burned on the Hualapai playa in 1997. He has formed several camps of his own, been part of others, and in 2010 discovered Feed the Artists. Daniel has been lead chef at FtA for various themed meals that reflect his Argentine birth, his Italian and Spanish culinary heritages, and his adopted American homeland. Chef Daniel’s next themed meal is currently unknown.
Darryl Van Rhey is a San Francisco-based journalist and longtime observer of Burning Man.
As a child Dave X sought out activities considered naughty by some, including his parents. In doing so he noticed that through the organization of others he could achieve greater levels of naughtiness. As he grew older Dave X was always looking behind the curtain to see who the wizard really was and how his mysterious machines worked. It was only natural that he would bring the traits of organization and mechanical curiosity together in his future work.
In 1992 he was lured to the Black Rock Desert when he discovered a strange group called The Cacophony Society. Wonders and curiosities were discovered as he crossed to a new reality and he knew he had seen the future. This future was made of wood and stood tall and proud on the desert floor before taking flight to the spirits in a blaze of fire. In 1999 after several years of creating large-scale fire installations he realized that the use of fire and fuel had grown to a tipping point. He saw that the time had come to either self regulate its use or face outside regulation.
Under the guidance of Crimson Rose he began his career with the Performance Safety Team and sought trainings and licensing so that he could create guidelines for the use of fire and fuels that would ensure the spectacle and ritual of their use while preventing their misuse. Dave X is now the Manager of the Fire Art Safety Team and holds several certifications for fuel management as well as being a licensed Pyrotechnic Operator.
Deets Shay is on Burning Man Project’s Communications team, overseeing social media content strategy and execution, in addition to leading print production projects. She attended her first Burn in 2012, when she quickly realized she identified with the culture, and has been going back almost every year since. Prior to joining Burning Man Project’s year-round staff, Deets volunteered for the Department of Mutant Vehicles, where she helped process Mutant Vehicle applications before the Burn, and approved vehicle licensing on playa. You can generally find her hanging out with her amazing wife Ginger Snap, their Corgi, Mini Waffles, and Shiba Inu, Jinkx.
Dennis Hinkamp lives in Logan, UT. His playa name is Flackmaster, though he is using it less frequently. He would like to be remembered mostly for the conceptual art project Twinkie Henge and the many elegant iterations of Media Mecca.
As a seasoned event producer, community organizer, and prolific artist, Devyn Madsen has been deeply engaged with Burning Man culture throughout the years and around the world. In addition to leading theme camps and facilitating a Houdini-style escape act from a hot air balloon over playa, she has held lead roles in producing events such as San Francisco Decompression, Precompression, and Burnal Equinox, organized Burning Man’s annual auction at The Artumnal Gathering, cooked and planned meals for 250 community leaders at the European Leadership Summit, catered for over 1000 people at Desert Arts Preview, and has been part of the Everywhere Pavilion Team and Man Pavilion Aerial Performances in Black Rock City. In 2020 she took on a significant role with Kindling as a web producer, designer, publisher, and community manager. She is also the Content Director for the East Bay Mini Maker Faire, and an Assistant Producer of San Francisco’s beloved Edwardian Ball.
Diva Marisa Winter is a 22 year burner. She has been singing for the opening of Death Guild Thunderdome’s evening shows since 2000, and began managing Thunderdome in 2004. She worked DPW from 2000-2003, has sung for David Best’s Temple Burns since 2002, has crafted two DGTD fleet vehicles, and participated in Black Rock City Cultural Direction Setting phases 1 and 2. A classically trained opera singer, she sings opera on trapeze with a circus, and has been offering live streaming performances since just before the beginning of the California shelter-in-place. Her DayJob™ is managing Research Engagement for a Fortune 500 Software Company. She enjoys riding her liter sport bike and smashing the patriarchy.
Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley is Burning Man Project’s Associate Director of Communications. Dom manages press/media relations, external communications strategies, and social media, to name a few things. On playa, he helps run Media Mecca with a team of amazing volunteers. Burning since 2013, Dom’s playa name seems to change every year. Prior to joining the Burning Man staff, Dom spent almost six years on the breaking news desk at CNN in New York.