On stage
I talk about leadership, civic experiments, scaling volunteer organizations, and the unreasonable persistence of participatory culture. Below are selected appearances. If you're booking a conference and need a speaker who can hold a room, I'd love to hear from you.
2016
Plenary
San Francisco, CA
Burning Man Global Leadership Conference
A plenary-stage talk at the global gathering of Burning Man regional leaders, about what the CHIditarod's first decade taught us about scaling a volunteer institution from a one-off prank to a durable organization that makes a real difference.
Leadership · Volunteer ops · Civic experiments
2016
Chicago, IL
The Geek Show · VStheUNIVERSE
A long-form interview on the CHIditarod's first decade, pitched in five words: "cosplay, charity, food drive, beer, sabotage." I trace the arc from its Burning Man origin in 2005 to the first race in 2006, the foundation's first $45,000 in grants, and the year we crossed 20,000 lbs of food collected - and make the case for creative sabotage as the thing that keeps a 1,000-person event weird, the first Saturday in March, every year, cold or colder.
Civic experiments · Community organizing · Founder interview
2020
RoShamBo Podcast
A founder interview for RoShamBo's "timely and terrific" dispatch on the CHIditarod - the charitable, costumed, satirical shopping-cart race I started after coming home from Burning Man in 2005. I walk through the origin, the mechanics of a five-mile race run the first Saturday in March, the creative-sabotage saga we sensationalized as "Chididigate," and the numbers that still floor me: nearly 200,000 pounds of food and $200,000+ raised since inception, with $150,000+ regranted to Chicago hunger nonprofits. The episode then hands the mic to four veteran teams - 3GS&T, Action Squad, the Team That Shall Not Be Named, and Nomeward Bound - on costumes, bribery, and why they keep coming back.
Founder interview · Civic experiments · Hunger relief
2014
Chicago, IL
Creative Mornings Chicago
A morning talk for Chicago's monthly creative-community gathering, on the strange durability of homemade civic rituals and what it takes for an idea to outgrow the people who made it.
Creative practice · Civic ritual
2007
Chicago, IL
CHIditarod · multiple stages
Numerous talks across the CHIditarod's tenure - from sponsor pitches and volunteer all-hands to keynote-style storytelling at adjacent civic and creative events. The recurring through-line: how a shopping-cart race became a seven-figure hunger fundraiser.
Founder talks · Community organizing · Nonprofit leadership
