BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Current Board of Directors
Liz Pittinos
President
She/Her
Joined 2023
Email: liz@precipitationnw.org
Committees: Programs, RIDE
Hailing from Philadelphia by way of Albuquerque and San Francisco, Liz is now happily settled in Northeast Portland. Liz has a professional background in nonprofit work that supports national parks and other public lands. She currently lives a double life as a project manager for park planning projects and the owner of a vintage resale business.
Liz bought her first Burning Man ticket in 1997, at a San Francisco used clothing store, for $60. This sparked a decades-long, strange trip of art, adventure, and community. After so many journeys to Playa, volunteering across departments and on art crews from small to huge, she focuses now on fostering Burner culture at the regional scale.
Liz is motivated by art, the outdoors, and ensuring equitable access to both. Her volunteer resume includes a decade of guiding kayak trips for individuals with disabilities and youth from underserved communities. She is co-founder of SF Porchfest, a free community music festival in San Francisco's Mission District. After helping to build a light sculpture in her front yard for Portland Winter Light Festival 2022, Liz naturally jumped at the opportunity to be a direct part of PNW's mission to bring Burning Man art and culture to the broader Portland environs.
Chris Schneider aka Starfish
Vice President
He/him
Joined 2024
Email: starfish@precipitationnw.org
Committees: Comms & Tech, Conduct, Finance
Starfish grew up in Ohio, then relocated to Portland around the turn of the century. He attended his first Burning Man in 2008 and began attending SOAK in 2012.
Starfish enjoys building art and then responsibly setting it on fire. He’s been involved in multiple burnable art projects (and a few non-burnable as well). He was a SOAK Producer from 2015-2017 and volunteers as a Black Rock Ranger as well as with other departments.
The 10 principles that he most values are: Decommodification, Radical Inclusion, and Communal Effort; also Leave No Trace for purely practical reasons.
Emma Anholt aka Gorgeous
Secretary
She/her
Joined 2025
Email: emma@precipitationnw.org
Committees: Comms & Tech, Finance, Site Search
Emma grew up in southeast Portland. She has been attending SOAK every year it’s run since getting roped in back in 2014. The event is now central to her yearly cycle, having met her wife there and raising their child at the event. Her past roles have been as a DPW and Fire Safety volunteer (and a single Gate shift), before moving to being a Power and Comms lead.
Prior to PNW, Emma has served as the Treasurer for the X.Org Foundation, and currently serves as the Finance Committee chair on the board of The Portland Montessori School.
In her spare time, Emma plays in her home wood, lapidary, and metalsmithing shops, camps with her family, and works on her old craftsman house.
Suzanne Mehta
Treasurer
She/her
Joined 2023
Email: suzanne@precipitationnw.org
Committees: Finance, RIDE
Suzanne has approximately 15+ years of experience in the financial field, primarily in risk management and policy implementation. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, she has called Portland home since 2011 and received her undergraduate degree in Linguistics at PSU as well as an MBA and Master’s Certificate in Conflict Resolution. She has volunteered as a teacher of English as a Second Language to recent immigrants through Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization.
Suzanne has attended Burning Man twice and almost every SOAK since 2010, hopping from various theme camps such as Haus Catz and DTF. You can find Suzanne on dance floors all over Portland when she’s not taking her dogs out on adventures. Always looking for ways to participate and take an active role in the community and the arts, she looks forward to being part of the PNW Board and getting involved on a larger scale.
Beverly Drottar aka Dr Bev
Board Member at Large
She/her
Joined 2024
Email: doctorbev@precipitationnw.org
Committees: Conduct, RIDE
Dr. Bev, a retired MD, dedicates all of her time to volunteering and enjoying various activities. Dr Bev has been a resident of the Portland area since 1994, and her career was interrupted by Lyme disease two decades ago. She led a nutritional self-help group named "Healthy Habits" for six years in the Bethany area.
As an Oregon Master Naturalist, Dr. Bev volunteers for multiple non-profits, leading outdoor school and field trips, and educating school-age children about the natural world. With almost 30 years of experience, she served as a Girl Scout Leader and as board president for the Oregon Trails Club for the past three years.
Having attended her first Burning Man in 2016, Dr. Bev has increased her involvement each year. She currently serves as a shift lead for Greeters at the Big Burn and was previously a medical volunteer shift lead at Soak (as well as Critical NW). She now manages two camps for regionals: "Dr. Bev's Clinic" with the motto "malpractice makes perfect!" and "Astro Shack Java Joint." Commuting every 2-5 weeks between Seattle and Portland, she has numerous friends and connections among the Seattle area Burners. Dr. Bev aspires to take on board roles where she can contribute most effectively to Precipitation NW.
Lauren Novotny aka Bunny
Board Member at Large
She/her
Joined 2024
Email: bunny@precipitationnw.org
Committees: Finance, Programs
Bunny left the San Francisco Bay Area and arrived in the Portland area during the height of the pandemic in 2020. She holds a BA in Ecology and Marine Science from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a published author in several agricultural pest management journals, a (formerly) professional brewer, and a talented accountant in the non-profit sector, specializing in fiscal sponsorship.
Bunny began going to Burning Man in 2014. Armed with a mesh two-person tent and far too many kazoos, she had the clichéd “life-changing experience" and refused to stop going back. An irremediable volunteering habit ensued, leading to roles such as ranger, shop steward for multiple art builds and DPW, and in Art Support Services. As a repeat volunteer and participant at UnSCruz, Bunny was exceedingly pleased to attend her first SOAK in 2022 and has finally weasled her way into an exciting position to make an impact in her new community.
Thomas McElroy aka Apparatus
Board Member at Large
He/Him
Joined 2025
Email: apparatus@precipitationnw.org
Committees: Conduct, Programs. Site Search
Apparatus has deep roots in Burningman and Portland burner doings. He is a long-time Black Rock Ranger and one of the founders of SOAK and Burnout. He enjoys building community and human infrastructure, making music, and long burns on the beach. Originally from Detroit, he has called Portland home since 1991. Both of his children grew up as festival kids at SOAK and Burningman. A lawyer by trade, Apparatus also enjoys gaming, cooking, gardening and woodworking. His band, the Dreamland Farmers records original music and often plays live at our events.
Colten Nye aka Tamagotchi
Board Member at Large
He/him
Joined 2025
Email: tamagotchi@precipitationnw.org
Committees: Finance, Programs, Comms & Tech
Tamagotchi's introduction to Burner culture began in 2008 when a friend of his invited him to attend Element 11, the Utah regional burn. He had so much fun he decided to do it again the next year, followed by going to the Big Burn. He brought that enthusiasm with him when he moved to his new home in Portland, Oregon by going to SOAK for the first time in 2010, and he hasn't stopped going since.
Tamagotchi is a jack of many trades, primarily around technology. When he is not developing software, fixing a printer, or populating spreadsheets, he is usually sticking LEDs on something or setting something on fire.
Tamagotchi has had many homes at SOAK over the years including NW Mist, Camp k(no)w-k(no)w, Black Rock Gladiators, Camp ... Awkward, Tiki Camp, Camp Clusterfuck, and now resides in Central Services. He has worn many volunteer hats - DPW, pathlighters, rangers, MBS, Temple, IT, and has now managed to find himself on the PNW board of directors.
Lory Osterhuber
Board Member at Large
She/her
Joined 2025
Email: lory@precipitationnw.org
Committees: Conduct, Finance
Lory was introduced to Burning Man culture in 1997, whereby attending Burning Man for a mere 48 hours, she found “her people,” confirmed her love of camping in the wide open spaces, and fell in love, again and again, and again with art, fire, pedestrian and bicycling community, and the extraordinary wonders of a gifting populace. She moved from the SF Bay Area to Portland in 2013 and jumped with both feet into volunteering alongside Portland Burners.
Lory is a retired paralegal with trial, research, HR, and accounting/ bookkeeping experience. She has volunteered for hospice, as both a respite caregiver and a grief group facilitator. She is a studied End of Life Midwife, and an educator for home funerals. She loves crafting, walks in Forest Park, and out-of-town and overseas traveling. She recently returned from a trip to Albania & Greece.
BOARD ALUMNI
Michelle David
2021-2024
Frank Broyles
2022-2024
Krista Basis
2022-2024
Caitlin May
2024
Kristin Stankiewicz
2020-2023
Chef Juke
2022-2023
Dina Moy
2021-2023
Abigail Alder
2023
Danielle Park
2019-2022
Molly Harpel
2020-2022
Alexander LaVake
2020-2022
Dale Lucht aka Leho
2019-2021
Harry Nedley
2018-2020
Preet Gujral
2020
Ryan Krellwitz
2017-2020
Ariel Rigney
2017-2020
Adrian Thomas-Eikmann
2016-2019
Sarah Honeycutt
2019
Becca Priddy
2016-2018
Amelia Lamb
2016-2018
Julia Betts
2016-2017
Tom Martin aka TomCat
2016-2017