Chris “Starfish” Schneider

Starfish grew up in Ohio and relocated to Portland Oregon in 1999. He attended his first Burning Man in 2008 and began attending SOAK in 2012. Since then, he has participated in five other Regional events and plans to attend more because he likes to taste what other people have been cooking.

Starfish enjoys building art and then responsibly setting it on fire. He has contributed to multiple burnable art projects, along with a few that were intended to survive the event. He served as a SOAK Producer from 2015-2017, a Precipitation Northwest Board Member from 2024-present, and volunteers in a variety of capacities including as a Black Rock Ranger.

He is particularly interested in the governance and administration of creative volunteer organizations and always enjoys talking shop with fellow event organizers. He believes that well-documented policies, designed to support flexibility and adaptation to changing conditions, provide a stronger foundation than purely ad hoc approaches.