ROTARY LUNCHEON: Jessica Hansen and Burning Man

Burning Man is difficult to explain and best understood through experience, but since not everyone has the chance (or inclination) to join the event in person, Club Member Jessica Hansen - long time “Burner” and board member of Mystopia, an established Burning Man camp and registered 501(c)(3) - will provide a glimpse into the annual gathering and temporary city in the desert of Black Rock City, Nevada. Jessica will share about Burning Man’s history, ethos, and guiding principles, along with providing a peek into the day-to-day experience of being there. 

Burning Man hosts between 70K-80K participants each year. It is full of incredible art and architecture, workshops, projects, music, offerings, and activities - all free for ticketed attendees. There is no commodification or exchange of money at Burning Man. You can buy ice to keep your food edible and your water cool, but that’s it! There is also no “bartering”, just the spirit of radical self-reliance and gifting. The event culminates in the symbolic burnings of first The Man and then The Temple but most camps and the Burning Man organization engage the community throughout the year. It is truly a unique, mind-shifting, life-altering event and community for those open to it, and all are welcome!

In addition to being Executive Director at Alliance for Smiles (an international medical nonprofit that provides free life-changing surgeries to children with cleft lips and palates and training/equipment to the local medical teams who serve them), Jessica Hansen is also a TEDx Speaker, a Senior Strategist at Impact Travel Alliance, Vice President of the Board of the West Africa Voluntary Organization, and host of The HumanKind Project podcast. Jessica has been a member of the Rotary Club of San Francisco since 2020.

Jessica also serves on the Board of Directors of her Burning Man camp, Mystopia. She currently leads their RIDE initiative, which stands for “Radical Inclusion, Diversity & Equity” and is part of their Sustainability team, helping to build solar grids to power the camp and its projects. Jessica has not missed a “Burn” since her first in 2015, and goes in advance of the event to build, stays after to tear down, and coordinates her camp and related events all year long to support and engage the community, art projects, and the event. Her "playa names" are Rally and Ticketmaster, which will make more sense when/if you hear her presentation. 

A three-course lunch will be served. If you require a vegetarian, gluten free, or vegan lunch, please email Past President Mary Liu.

For Club members and visitors, there is a $45 charge for in-person attendance (which covers the cost of your lunch). NOTE: For those who wish to participate via Zoom, there is a $10 fee to attend.

Click here to register for in-person attendance.

Click here to register for attendance via Zoom. 

For in-person attendees: The cost for in-person registration will remain $45 if you register early until 11:59 AM on Friday, March 10, 2023. When the clock strikes noon on Friday, March 10, 2023, the price will go up to $60. If you show up at the door on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 as a walk-in, you will be charged $60. Please note that once Past President Mary Liu provides the headcount to the Hotel Nikko on the Friday before our Tuesday meeting, we will be billed for that count regardless of whether you show or not. 

Parking: If you are driving to the Hotel Nikko for this meeting, please leave your car with the Hotel Nikko valet. Pick up a validation sticker available at our check-in table. The discounted parking is $17.50 for three hours.

COVID-19 Protocol

If you do not feel well, please do not attend in person. Masks for those attending in person are optional during the event. We recommend that fully vaccinated individuals wear masks when the risk may be high.