Burning Man Project

Advisor, Governance & Engagement | 2020 - 2025 | Organizational Evolution | view all creations

Advised Burning Man on governance and engagement to support decentralized participation & co-created futures.

My work with the Burning Man Project began in 2020 through Liminalia, where we were invited to help reimagine Burning Man in the face of a global pandemic. We co-developed the foundational framing for the Burning Man Multiverse, a decentralized participatory experience that honored both physical and digital expressions of the Burn. Rather than replicating Black Rock City in a single digital space, we proposed a radical reframing: Burning Man is everything Burners create — online or off, official or not.

From 2022 onward, I served as a strategic advisor on governance and engagement, supporting organizational evolution of decentralized decision-making, collaborative systems, and internal knowledge infrastructure. My work emphasized cultural coherence, transparency, and tools for collaboration — grounded in the participatory ethos that defines the Burner community.

As of 2025, I continue to offer informal support to the Future Forums, a global gathering series that invites Burners to shape the next chapter of the network and culture. These forums reflect many of the principles we explored together — decentralized participation, narrative coherence, and co-creation at every level.

    • Co-developed the foundational Burning Man Multiverse concept during the COVID-19 pandemic, framing the event as a decentralized digital-physical experience

    • Designed a digital/physical multiverse framework and participatory design principles for platform experiences

    • Led strategic messaging to support inclusive engagement across decentralized worlds and community-led activities

    • Facilitated stakeholder workshops to align narrative, culture, and strategy across digital and physical spaces

    • Advised on internal governance evolution, emphasizing decentralized decision-making and organizational coherence

    • Mapped existing decision-making systems across departments to identify opportunities for adaptive structure

    • Proposed adaptive modular governance model tailored to unique cultural ecosystems

    • Supported development of knowledge infrastructure to enhance transparency, institutional memory, and shared learning

    • Facilitated engagement sessions with staff and community

    • Helped shape the narrative and strategy for Burning Man’s first-ever Multiverse experience

    • Developed models to support long-term governance evolution across decentralized teams

    • Supported ongoing internal strategy with a focus on engagement culture, collaboration, and transparency

    • Erica Blair – Organizational Evolution, Burning Man Project

    • Kim Cook – Director, Strategic Initiatives, Burning Man Project

    • Liminalia Team – Creative partners in shaping the Multiverse concept

    • Topia Team – For enabling the spatial experience of Build-A-Burn

    • Burning Man Project & Community