John Briant is a default world ship captain, sailor, mountain biker, spearfisherman, tiny house builder and van-lifer. At-home no bullshit bike repair hack.
John Curley (that's me) has been Burning since the relatively late date of 2004, and in 2008 I spent the better part of a month on the playa, documenting the building and burning of Black Rock City in words and pictures. I loved it, and I've been doing it ever since.
I was a newspaper person in a previous life, and I spent many years at the San Francisco Chronicle. At the time I left, in 2007, I was the deputy managing editor in charge of Page One and the news sections of the paper. Since then, I've turned a passion for photography into a second career. I shoot for editorial, commercial and private clients. I've also taught a little bit, including two years at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and a year at San Francisco State University.
I live on the San Mateo coast, just south of San Francisco in California.
John Marx is a San Francisco-based Lyrical Avant-Garde architect, and a part time student of Absurdity, Paradox, Kindness, and Art. He has a special interest in how we can help reconnect architecture and art to the passions people feel for life. He was invited to participate in the 2017 Burning Man European Leadership summit in Stockholm, which revealed to him how viral Burning Man culture can be, and it inspired him to go forth, helping to “encourage people to embrace community and kindness through participatory art.”
John Valentino lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is the Art Discovery Manager for the Burning Man Art Department. He first came to Burning Man 2012 as part of the New Orleans CORE project Baby Brulé. In 2013 he was the lead artist for the CORE project, Alter of the Wetlands, and led the New Orleans Pavilion in the 2014 Souk. In 2015 he was awarded an Honorarium for Krewe of the Dusty Playa, an artwork commemorating the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. John is a Professor of New Media and Animation in the Department of Art and Visual Design at Southeastern Louisiana University. Each year, between November and February, he designs and builds the royalty float for the New Orleans Mardi Gras parading organization Krewe du Vieux.
Jon Mitchell, a.k.a. Argus, was publisher of the Burning Man Journal, the Jackrabbit Speaks newsletter, and the Burning Man website from 2016 to 2019. He joined the Comm Team as a volunteer in 2010 and as year-round staff in 2014. He co-wrote a big story about spending 24 hours at the Temple of Juno in 2012. His first Burn was in 2008.
Josh is a member of the nonprofit programming team at Burning Man, and is responsible for developing collaborations, managing activity reporting, and building out grant processes. With a Masters degree in International Policy and a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Language, Josh previously held positions with the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program, Tostan, and the World Affairs Council. Josh's first year on playa was 2013 when he was lured by the idea of skydiving over Black Rock City. Josh joined the Burning Man HQ staff in 2014.
Nexus (he/him/his) was born and raised in the traditional territory of the Pamunkey and the Piscataway, part of which many of us now call Washington, DC. He is a queer cisgender man, who practices ethical non-monogamy. He received his B.A. in dance from the University of Maryland, College Park, and went on to American University for his M.A. in Arts Management. He is devoted to the District’s creative community, including volunteering as a board member on local performing arts organizations. He is passionate about building community through the arts, and unpacking issues around diversity and equity. One way in which this has manifested has been an ongoing storytelling project, providing DC Burners opportunities to tell true stories on stage throughout Washington. Beginning in 2014, this project now has a year round presence with seasonal performances and workshops at local and regional events. Nexus is particularly dedicated to naming whiteness and dismantling white supremacy in all his endeavors. He currently also volunteers with Burning Man as one of the five Regional Contacts for Washington, DC.
Judes has been a Bay Area burner since 1999 and an advocate for playa families since 2002. She first brought her son Dexter to BRC when he was 16-months-old, he's been burning ever since. Judes hosted Hot Monkey Sox, a sock monkey workshop camp in Kidsville from to 2007-10. In 2010, she founded the Black Rock Scouts, a playacational program for kids to volunteer with BRC Departments and learn to give back to the BRC community. With Scouts, Judes worked shifts with Greeters and Lamplighters. She was an Earth Guardians from 2011-13, and on Gate/Perimeter from 2012-13. Judes is now on the crew of the Neverwas Haul, mobile art installation based in Vallejo. Off-playa, Judes is a freelance writer, artist, art instructor (kids & adult), designer and maker of upcycled Steampunk fashion and playa-wear. "It's never too late to have a happy childhood."
Kari "Carry On" Gregg is the Foundation Relations Manager for Burning Man Project, where she raises funds for Burning Man’s year-round global programs. In addition to being a Black Rock Ranger and running a theme camp on playa, she also contributes to Burning Man’s Collaborative Leadership curriculum.