07/22/2025
We are pleased to announce the five new members of the 2025-2026 Gateway Board! Because only five nominees made it through the vetting process, no formal vote was needed to elect them to the five slots available.
Jennifer Wilder
Rizz M Eickelman
Pettrov Pterodactyl
Gudrun Sveasdottir
Mother Unit
The Board of Directors are the legal representatives of Gateway Burners II, LLC, which is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization in the state of Missouri. They are responsible for keeping that registration up to date, managing its funds, and generally keeping the organization on a legally up-and-up status with the state so that our community can keep meeting up and having events, from the Burn to the picnics and beyond. As a further goal, they are somewhat stewards of the spirit of Burning Man within our regional organization.
And basically, THAT’S IT.
While the Board of Directors do pick the ECs for all our events (the burn itself, decompression, fall picnic, fire and ice, spring picnic, and compression), they are NOT the event planners for the Gateway group. They are not babysitters, wizards or “bosses” of the gateway community. They are humans with lives and feelings who have volunteered to help keep the organization (as described above) going for another year. The community of Burners here in St Louis and the surrounding areas can and should exist independently of the state-registered organization – in our Meet and Greets, our fun days, our theme camp fundraisers, our friendly group board game nights and movie nights and ANY of the many ways that our little group of found family keeps the community together, connecting, and growing.
As we go forward into the next year and the future, let’s find ways to keep the Burner values alive in all of our adventures, without leaning too heavily on the small group of the humans who have agreed to fulfill this role.
