Critical NW

The Ambassador leads work alongside & train the amazing volunteers who get to en-culturate participants as they enter the event. Their primary responsibilities are to greet, ensure participants have read the Survival Guide, and hand out event swag (field guides, special event pendants, wristbands, etc.). The Ambassador team answers general questions about the event, the 10+ Principles, and more! Leads also provide entry expectations and assist with the management of traffic into the event. This role has a significant amount of interaction with the Gate, Parking and Spacement teams.

The Artist Support & Grants leads assist with coordinating & communicating with those who have submitted Art that has been placed, help ensure artists have requested the right amount of space, power, and/or any heavy equipment needed for them to succeed, and make sure all the granted art gets documented & photographed so we can show the community what beautiful / interesting / exciting things you helped fund. These leads ensure granted artists have submitted the necessary information to obtain placement for granted art, have a space coordinated for their granted (and non-granted) workshops to be held, and that they are aware of the deadlines and expectations associated with their Grants. This role collaborates heavily with the INW Art Grants Committee, Spacement, and DPW teams.

Additional Role Requirements:

• Serve on the INW Grants Committee and communicate pertinent information to artists & Spacement

Artistic Vision leads set the stage for the current year’s theme at the event site. This team plans, orders, and manages installation/deinstallation of the lighting, street names, burma shave (those rad little entry signs!), and street signage throughout the event. This role interfaces heavily with the Spacement, Grants / Artist Support, and DPW teams.

This team assists with the verification of INW Firestarter memberships for both the Facebook group and ticket purchases and transfers, coordinates with producers on the sale dates, assists Design team as needed with updates requested for the ticketing platform, provides Gate with pertinent information daily for participant entry into the city, and assists with the transfers of certain types of tickets/passes. This role collaborates heavily with producers, Gate, and Communication.

New for 2024, Census is responsible for surveying Critical NW participants with the help of volunteers and establishing a dataset to better understand our community. The ideal candidate will have skills including: statistical data analysis, cultural sensitivity, survey methods, and research study design.

The Communications team engages participants before, during, and after the event with informative messaging incorporating the year’s theme, the 10+ Principles, and other pertinent information. 

Communications regularly updates and interacts with the Critical NW website, newsletter, and social media. This role works closely with event producers and the community.

Additional Role Requirements:

• Monitor email/social media, answering questions and flagging appropriate departments
• Create and execute a scheduled communication plan
• Attend monthly INW Communication Committee meetings

The Design team collaborates with producers to create a cohesive visual story for Critical Northwest based on that year’s theme. Design leads create overall visual design and digital art assets for criticalnw.org, a library of digital assets to be used for signage and other printed materials by other department leads, the event map, design of the official event badges and wristbands. Design leads also assist production departments with design of department swag including stickers, t-shirts, or patches.

DPW has an external process for lead nomination. To learn more about how you can become a member of DPW please email dpw@criticalnw.org

The Exodus/LNT leads are responsible for leading the cleanup teams for post-event restoration of the Critical NW site, creating a plan for participant exodus including access to/from the site at the gate, and educating the community on Leave No Trace principles. The leads in this role will work with the theme camps, departments, and the production team on their LNT plans and coordinate the production HQ cleaning and trash schedules. This role collaborates with every department, though particularly with Stewardship, Communications and DPW.

Fire Safety is responsible for helping ensure the safety of participants at our event. The leads in this role will update and prepare the safety paperwork for the event permit, work with Artist Support and artists on regulatory safety requirements, perform onsite safety inspections of art installations, flame effects, theme camps, and common areas, and meet with the Fire Marshal and producer during the event. FAST leads will be ready to assume incident command of planned burns and emergency incident responses. 

Additional Responsibilities:

• Establish working knowledge of pertinent NFPA standards
• Complete FEMA ICS-100, ICS-200, and IS-15.B training (free, online)
• Attend Safety Northwest 2024 (April 26th – April 28th, 2024 in Tygh Valley, OR) if feasible
• Ensure INW Fire Safety equipment is all working and up to code
• Coordinate with other production departments on safety matters

Gate leads manage participant entry to the event in a safe, efficient, and orderly fashion. They perform ticket verifications, validate all entrants are INW Firestarters, administer & verify paperwork for each participant, provide appropriate tickets/passes/credentials to participants, and assist with troubleshooting / escalations as needed. Gate leads also serve as liaisons with the event’s contracted security staff. This role has a significant amount of interaction with producers, Ambassadors, Box Office, and the INW Board.

New in 2024, the Carts department operates a golf cart shuttle service for participants who could use a little extra help getting to and from Parking. Carts also manages the event’s golf cart fleet, tagging and decorating carts and performing daily maintenance. Before the event, Carts facilitates accessibility issues including service animal registration, ADA porto placement, etc.

Role Requirements:

• Familiarity with or ability to learn simple vehicle maintenance including checking fluids, tires, and fuel, refueling and refilling, and noticing significant mechanical issues.
• Empathy (and ideally, familiarity) with ability/accessibility challenges

Hub leads facilitate the community gathering space at Critical where ice is sold, hot beverages can be obtained, workshops are held, volunteer opportunities are posted, and general relaxation can be had. This team is responsible for managing cash ice sales & inventory, verifying IDs for people who’ve purchased ice pre-event, decorating the space in a way that is on-theme and helping to source coffee / tea donations for the event. This team has a significant amount of interaction with the Artist Support / Grants & Artistic Vision teams.

Life Support provides food and beverages to working volunteers. This team curates a grab & go pantry for production staff, plans nutritionally balanced meals for on-shift leads (factoring in known allergies/common dietary restrictions), and brings sundries like snacks, beverages, sunblock, etc. to volunteers around the site Life Support operates whenever volunteers are working: during work parties, the leads retreat, pre-event, and especially during the event. 

Additional Role Requirements:

• At least one lead in attendance at each onsite work weekend (dates TBD).
• Hold a current WA state Food Handler’s permit (reimbursement available)
• Comfortable operating a golf cart

Medical leads advise and collaborate with producers and other safety teams (Rangers, FAST) teams to develop health/safety planning and offer community education. They act as liaisons to the event’s contracted medical vendor, providing cultural context, monitoring health and safety trends, and communication and support as needed. Medical leads also provide First Aid care to participants and staff at all times when the medical vendor is not engaged, including pre- and post-event, work weekends, and the leads retreat. 

Role Requirements:

• First Aid experience, ideally in a professional emergency medical or urgent care role
• Minimum First Aid / CPR certification. Current professional medical certification strongly preferred
• Complete FEMA ICS-100 and ICS-200 training (free, online)
• At least one lead in attendance at leads retreat and each work weekend (dates TBD)

Parking leads assist with the setup, design, and implementation of onsite parking at the event to maximize the number of vehicles parked while complying with regulations and host requirements. This team manages the event parking lots during gate hours, maintains an accurate count of vehicles that have arrived on site, manages parking passes, and assists with dynamic parking challenges. This role interfaces heavily with the DPW, Gate, Spacement and Power Wheels teams.
Additional Role Requirement:
– Active in the Rideshare/Carpool/Offsite Parking page on Facebook to help answer questions

Power Wheels manages event electrical infrastructure and mutant vehicles. This team maps out power drops and sources, facilitates electrical needs for camps and art installations, obtains necessary equipment, lays out cable and power drops pre-event, removes & stores cable during strike, and responds to emergent power issues during the event. Power Wheels is also responsible for mutant vehicle registration, compliance, and safety. This role collaborates most with the DPW, Spacement, and Art Support teams.

Role requirements:

• Industrial or event electrical experience

Rangers are organized through the Puget Sound Ranger Council and leads are nominated from within that organization. To learn more about how you can first become a member of Rangers, email rangers@criticalnw.org.

Spacement leads manage theme camp and art placement applications, coordinate with participants on their submissions, and organize placement within the event site. They assist the Design team in creating event maps for participants and staff. Spacement organizes pre-event site visits for theme camp & art project leads and coordinates early arrival requests. During the event, Spacement guides camps and artists to their designated site location and communicates boundaries. This team works with all departments, but especially with Artist Support & Grants and Power Wheels.

Additional Role Requirement:
– At least one lead in attendance at each work weekend (dates TBD)

Stewardship leads work with the caretakers of the Masonic Family Campground, the Critical Northwest event site, to help create a plan for site restoration, updates, and invasive plant removal during work weekends. They coordinate with DPW the tasks to be completed at the INW work weekends as well as educate the community regarding plant life & sustainability of the site and other ways to create connection between our community and the land. This role collaborates with the Masonic Caretakers for the site, producers, and the LNT/ Exodus team. 

Additional Role Requirement:

• At least one lead in attendance at each work weekend (dates TBD)

The Technology team is tasked with managing radios and software tools to keep production staff and volunteers communicating before and during the event. Technology leads provide support to the production team for software tools including Google Workspace, Slack, and Notion. They maintain INW’s fleet of radios and accessories, set up and maintain radio equipment including antenna and repeater, program and support event and production staff radios, diagnose and troubleshoot radio system issues, train production staff on radio usage and etiquette, and manage onsite radio charging and checkins/checkouts. They also research and implement onsite Internet access for use by Gate and production staff.

Additional Role Requirements:

• Attend INW Tech Committee meetings
• Experience programming radios with software tools such as CHIRP

Volunteer Coordinators work closely with all Production leads to help build department schedules, set up volunteer intake forms, help teams with urgent staffing needs both pre-event and onsite, assist leads with volunteer recruitment efforts, and track volunteerism statistics to ensure credit for volunteer hours and data tracking over time. VCs will also actively develop and implement plans to increase volunteerism at the event.