Congratulations to Shelley for securing the second Regional Contact (RC) role for New Zealand. She becomes part of a network that has representatives all over the world to help spread the Burning Man spirit. Please find below the official statement from Burning Man:
“Greetings New Zealand Burners,
This is Lara from the Regional Network team in San Francisco. I’m reaching out with exciting news. My team is honored to announce that Shelley Watson is joining Pete Wyatt (aka Lumos) on the New Zealand team as your new Regional Contact (RC)!
RCs help nurture opportunities for self-expression, civic engagement, and participation in their local communities. They embody leadership skills that keep with the values and principles of the Burning Man community and they see the potential for what the Burning Man ethos can spark in the world. More info on the RC role can be found here.
Thank you to all the wonderful candidates who stepped up and self-nominated for the role. It was truly a tough choice, with so many qualified and capable Burners ready to step-up and support the New Zealand community.
Also, thank you to everyone who shared feedback about working with the candidates. Community feedback plays an integral role in Burning Man’s selection process; we greatly appreciate your participation.
For those of you who don’t know Shelley, she has been burning since 2006 when she experienced Burning Man in Black Rock City for the first time. Not long after her return from BRC, she became the Design Lead for Kiwiburn. Shelley has also served periodically on Kiwiburn’s Executive Committee and was the Communications Facilitator at Kiwiburn for several years, building the communication capacities of Kiwiburn through early 2020. Shelley is also a founding member of Auckland Burners, helping bring together Burners from across New Zealand to build The Giant Weta, a 2016 Black Rock City Honoraria Grant recipient. She also managed design and communications for the build. Shelley has helped organise and run fundraising events, regular meet-ups, and information nights, and has managed websites and social media channels within the New Zealand Burner community. Shelley is based in Auckland and is ready to further celebrate and grow the vibrant local Burner community year-round throughout New Zealand.
My team would like to thank Pieter van den Berg, Emma “Feather” Shaw, Andy Justice, and Justin McGhee for their thoughtful collaboration in the RC search as interviewers.
You can reach Shelley, as well as Lumos, by emailing newzealand@burningman.org. And make sure to check out New Zealand’s webpage here.
With gratitude,
Lara on behalf of the Regional Network Team”
Yay! Go Shelley!
