Humans of the Temple
We’re assembling an amazing team of humans who believe in the following principles. Get to know a few of them here. We’d love for you to join us!
We are devoted to creating and cultivating our 2024 Temple in alignment with the following values:
CHECK IN
We take responsibility for ourselves, checking in with our bodies and our spirits to clarify our needs and wants. We understand that taking care of our personal containers allows us to be resourced in gifting of ourselves to the Temple container.
care
The Temple holds space for the full spectrum of human experience, from grief and self-reckoning to celebration and intention-setting and we honor that. We accept the reality of what is happening around us, and take care to bear witness to it with as much equanimity as possible.
COLLABORATE
We are a team and the Temple belongs to all of us. We are stewards of its transition into the material plane, and we recognize that that happens when we approach each and every fellow steward with a "YES AND," solution-oriented mindset.
COMMUNICATE
We communicate our needs, wants, and solutions in as non-violent of a way as we are capable. We recognize that words cast spells ("spell"-ing) and we take responsibility for our communication, verbal and non-verbal.
CONSECRATE
We honor the sanctity of every aspect of the Temple: the space we are creating, the land it will be created upon, the people to whom that land belongs, the materials with which it will be formed, and the souls who will cross paths with it in one form or another. When we choose to consecrate this, we open ourselves up to magic.
TEMPLE OF TOGETHER TEAM LEADS
The Temple of Together crew is made up of hundreds of volunteers which includes a 100+ volunteer crew on playa build. The core leadership team (the “Container”) is made up of 6-8 dedicated individuals/leads who have devoted their time towards the temple process and everyday operations in preparation for pre-build, the pre-build in Oakland and the on-playa build.
LEAD ARTIST
TEMPLE LEADERSHIP TEAM LEAD
Glitter Kitty is an artist and activist entrepreneur. Her first large-scale activism community was Levo (1MM+ members, 30K Local meetups), which she co-founded to demystify the path to purpose after being the first woman in her family to attend college. Levo helped her to find her purpose as a creator and in 2022 she founded Recto Verseau, a visionary multimedia Art House focused on supporting the regenerative feminine principle through disruptive narrative. Recto Verseau brought Disturb My Slumber to the Playa in 2022 (pictured here by Ben Henretig immediately prior to its burn).
Caroline was inspired to create the Temple of Together after experiencing the tumultuous terrain of her own soul retrieval and integration. Her intention for 2024 is CONSECRATION, and she is devoted to bringing the Temple container to life with acceptance, love, and potency.
Maissa Sader
lead architect
Maissa is an architect and designer, originally from Lebanon, now residing in Lisbon. Alongside her partner Karl, she has recently established their design studio, Kamai. In 2019, in collaboration with Lead Artist Caroline Ghosn, they began to explore creative proposals for the Playa: Do Not Cross (2019), Disturb My Slumber (2021), and the Temple of Return (2022). With Temple of Together, she wishes to help create a haven to welcome people from all horizons.
Paul “Sparkle Pony” Franke
build lead
TEMPLE LEADERSHIP TEAM
I’ve been building deep playa burning man projects for 15 years. My happy place is engaging people in designing and building large-scale public art. Art that everyone can enjoy and participate in bringing to light.
As part of Flux, I believe that anyone can be an artist and build big art. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never picked up a tool or even thought for a minute you could draw or paint or sculpt. It’s all about a person’s willingness to transform and be transformed. What matters is your drive to learn and the passion to create. The inclusive process of building Temple doesn’t just create public art; it creates public artists, who then go on to transform both others and new places.
TJ “Tree Jay” Lee
JEDI COUNSEL
Tree Jay has had the honor and pleasure of working on the Temple since 2012. He was Lead Build on the Temple of the Heart, and a lead builder on 2023, 2019 and 2018 Temples. He helped to form the Temple Builders Guild in 2020 and continues to bring continuity and fun to the Temple Project. Tree Jay will be helping this year mentoring a new generation of Temple builders. Drawing from years of experience he will assist the leadership and crew to bring to life the Temple of Together.
Nonstop Symon
Leave No Trace Lead
Nonstop Symon started going to the playa in 2006. In 2010 he felt a calling to be a part of something else out there. That year he volunteered with the temple crew and has been back with the temple crew every year since, even invited by David Best to build a Temple in Ireland in 2015. As of late he’s been focused on the Leave No Trace aspect of the playa builds. Respectfully taking care of the land that we build on is the core of his being. It’s not a one person job but up to the whole crew to leave no trace. He’s got the knowledge and tools to help everyone pull it off. There are many roles to play in the process of a temple build. His gift to the community is making sure your temple doesn’t leave a trace.
Mike “Just Mike” Keeler
OPERATIONS LEAD
TEMPLE LEADERSHIP TEAM
Mike has been involved in some wonderful big art projects both on and off the playa, including The Folly, Paradisium, Sonic Runway, Carillon, DMS, and Temple of the Heart. Helping build both the art and the community is what makes it most meaningful. The Temple, in particular, brings together such an amazingly diverse, gifted, and supportive group of people, with a focus on creating the heart of BRC. He’s been especially adept at embracing the chaos and bringing a little zen to the process.
Ajesh Shah
community architect
TEMPLE LEADERSHIP TEAM
Ajesh (they/them) is a community architect who supports the weaving together of diverse individuals, ideas, and experiences through tending threads of care and love, and a heartfelt commitment to bringing out the best in everyone. As the community architect for the 2023 Temple of The Heart, and as contributor to several other Burning Man art projects, Ajesh has co-created communities and spaces where the heart can unfold and the soul can find its way home.
Inspired by the story of the hummingbird, Ajesh believes that every small action matters in the grand tapestry of change. Their community work is a testament to their dedication to personal and collective transformation, inviting others to connect authentically, support one another, and co-create a world where compassion and vibrancy intertwine.
Jenn Liu
community architect
TEMPLE LEADERSHIP TEAM
Jenn (she/her) is a lifelong volunteer and community builder who dedicates her time outside of default work to various arts spheres. She is passionate about creating fun, welcoming spaces people want to be in that prioritize safety—both physically and emotionally—inclusivity, and opportunities for growth. She supported 2023 Temple of the Heart with volunteer communications and coordination and returns this year to continue serving as a Community Architect. She embraces her newness to the world of Burning Man and makes it her mission to help volunteers find their path in Temple Build, in service of weaving individual journeys with the wider story unfolding. Find her behind the volunteer email inbox or at the Loom either pulling together behind-the-scenes threads or building with everyone else.
Jared “J-RAD” Krupa
LEAD Engineer
Jared is from Reno, NV and has been providing structural design support for playa and default world artists for over 15 years. Past playa projects include Embrace, Reflections: Burning Man Pavilion, Jellyfish Bloom, Golden Gate Bridge Art Car, Root Society, The Lantern, Aspen Trees, Circle of Friends, and Disturb My Slumber. This year, Jared is enjoying working on Pipedream and Temple of Together 2024.
Communications Lead
TEMPLE LEADERSHIP TEAM
Kelly is a third-generation professional visual artist working mostly in welded bronze and copper with galleries throughout the US representing her work and several large-scale artworks under her belt.
She has created three pieces of her own for Burning Man, two as a contract artist with her designs winning design competitions for the Man Pavilion (a “burnbot” robot effigy called “Crue Hudol” in 2018, and three amphitheaters called “E Pluribus Unum” in 2919), and once as Honoraria (“Infinite Stare” 2022) and two times as a collaborating/contributing artist (metal artist and other inside element artist for “Baba Yaga House” 2018, and “Alight” 2023). Kelly is a metal artist for the Temple of Together creating the metal lattice for the prayer hands archway and consulting on the metal cnc work for the altar.
She is also a graphic designer creating stickers, brochures, posters, business cards, websites and pendants.
Kelly comes to the Temple of Together build as Communications Lead putting her journalistic skills to use. She had been on on-air anchor during her time living in Lake Tahoe and a magazine and newspaper writer since 1999. Her her degree was in Business Marketing and Management. She served as President of the Board for The Tahoe Art League - a 501c(3) organization.
For media requests, etc, you can contact Kelly: kelly@2024temple.com
Kiana Toossi
DIGITAL LEAD
Kiana Toossi is a multi-disciplinary designer and photographer based in New York City & Los Angeles, leading her creative studio, Holiday Studio. With key influences from ephemera and decades of the past, Kiana’s work pairs minimalism with a sense of play.
Kiana designed the brand identity, website, and a handful of other collateral and applications for Temple 2024.
LindenJL
TEXTILES Lead
LindenJL is an Oakland-based artist, designer, and arts community organizer. Their textile installations have been featured at event spaces and music festivals such as Lightning in a Bottle, Envision Music Festival, and the Oakland Robot Heart Residency. Linden also develops and manages artist collectives in the Bay Area such as the 2727 artist co-op and ThirdSpace. Additionally, they work as an arts preparator, production designer for local arts businesses, and in events operations for Californian and International music & arts festivals.
Adam Doti
Design Strategist - Tool trailer Lead - workstream project manager - Dot Connector
TEMPLE LEADERSHIP TEAM
Adam is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and strategist originally from Chicago, now based in Petaluma, California. With over 30 years of experience designing digital experiences, he currently leads the design systems team at a cloud-based software company, where he applies his passion for systems thinking and creative problem-solving.
Adam is equally passionate about physical and digital art. A member of the Burning Man community for 25 years, he intentionally integrates aspects of Burning Man principles and Black Rock City with the default world and often weaves them into his professional life and team-building. The playa was Adam’s “temple” long before The Temple became a fixture.
Known for his ability to navigate gray areas and design effective solutions, Adam is drawn to the most complex projects in both the default world and on the playa. Most recently, in 2022 and 2023, he designed the systems for producing, indexing, and constructing the Temple's outer panels, or “skin” and led the rollout of cloud collaboration tools for the build crew.
This year, Adam continues his support for the Temple Crew as a Tool Trailer Lead and Workstream Project Manager with the Temple Builders Guild while playing the general dot connector between temple crews of the past, present, and future.
When asked what building the temple means to him, he often finds the words difficult and reflects that acts of service are his love language. As long as he is physically able, Adam will be swinging a hammer and building for those who can’t.
Dania Morris
Sound Installation Co-Lead
Dania Morris is an internationally recognized Installation Artist in the field of F.U.N. that has spent a lifetime immersed in visual and sound arts. Via listening, performing, composing, recording, engineering, and winstrument creation, they explore sympathetic resonance and frequency as it relates to the interconnected nature of the universe. No stranger to the dust, The Burning Man is one of their favorite muses.
Build Camp Lead
Hi, I'm Anton! /Duckie on the playa. I live in Salt Lake City and have a background in supply chain and program management. My Burning Man journey started with several regionals and inspired my first trip to BRC in 2019. Afterwards, my friends and I started a library camp together called Kumaya in 2022. I have found the act of building to be the most rewarding part of Burning Man, teaching us the true transformative nature of the BM culture and experience. Building the Temple of Together this year is a continuation of this journey of growth, adventure, and creativity for me. I am beyond blessed and grateful to be working together with this team on it.
Christopher Schardt
Lighting Lead
Christopher Schardt is an Oakland, California-based LED sculptor. He is best known for his large, immersive pieces such as Mariposa and Paraluna, but also exhibits pieces that are intimate and interactive. His works have appeared at many venues including Burning Man, Love Burn, Electric Daisy Carnival, the Smithsonian Institution, the Oakland Museum of California, and the 2020 World’s Fair in Dubai.
Matty Drazenovich
Electrical Lead
Matty is a San Francisco based engineer and builder. He has has a background in energy, specifically relating to power & electronics. After his first year going to burning man he decided to join The Temple team in 2023 to help with power and lighting. It ended up being some of the most intense, fun, crazy, and fulfilling months of his entire life so he decided to come back and do it all over again in 2024!