Presenter Bios*

In addition to our keynote speaker Lee "Bridgett" Harrington, SMARTFEST 2008 is lucky to have many other talented presenters sharing their knowledge and expertise in our Saturday class sessions.

Arcane
Arcane has been active in the lifestyle for over 12 years, though interested in it for a lot longer. He currently resides in Ohio where he is a member of SEO, a local BDSM group. At the outset of his relationship with Mistral he built a flogger, because "She didn't have one". It did not stop with just one and as a result Arcane travels to several events a year as a vendor, presenter and performer.

Barak & shebaBarak is a wickedly perverted, poly, semi-het, sadistic quasi-Dom, who never takes himself too seriously. He has been presenting and formally teaching within the vanilla arena as a medical professional, safety officer and rights activist for over 15 years. He is currently exploring his blend of spirituality within his SM and getting more "personal" with his play, by taking it into his own hands, so to speak.

Sheba is a poly, bisexual, spoiled rotten slut. She enjoys being treated like a princess and can be a royal Brat sometimes. She loves to play, but is also an activist, community leader, and educator. She has shared her knowledge and experience with groups and at events around the country.

Together they are the founding members of ULICK (The United Leadership in Columbus Kink group), and own Adventures in Sexuality (AIS), the largest PanPolyBSDM group in Central Ohio. They have founded local submissive and dominant roundtables, a TNG group, and an energy exploration group (Sinergy). Through AIS they are Coalition members of the NCSF and active in The Columbus Pride Festival. Together they have authored numerous short stories and essays on Polyamory, Kink, and Sacred Sexuality, and present classes to leather and non-leather groups. They currently promote Pansexual BDSM events in Central Ohio - including the Central Ohio Perversion Excursion (C.O.P.E.) and Winter Wickedness.

Chris M
Chris M is a Black Rose Emeritus board member, artist, writer, who has supported the BDSM community with his attendance and volunteer work since late 1989. He has prepared a wide variety of educational offerings in the Artform of SM, including impact play, fireplay, verbal dominance, aftercare, tickletorture and SM spirituality.
Chris� SM writings have been published in Prometheus, Petal and Thorn and websites too numerous to name. His kink art and sculpture has been exhibited at the legendary Playhouse Studios of Baltimore MD, and has been exhibited at the Leather Archives and Museum. He has illustrated Joseph Bean�s book �Flogging�, and �Erotic Tickling� both published by Greenery Press. More recently, his writings and Illustrations were featured in �Spiritual Transformation through BDSM� by Sensuous Sadie, a hardcover survey of persons and writings involved with the overlap of the sado-erotic and the spiritual.

Dan & dawn Dan has a dynamic ability to bring words to life, being a public speaker with a community theater background, . His workshops and presentations range from leather safety, D/s relationships, finding your authentic self, embracing your passionate nature, and sacred sexuality. His presentations are a mix of Ds/Leather lifestyle but include touches of Tantra, sexuality, and humor. Dan also has a background in addictions recovery and has worked in halfway houses in both Maryland and Ohio. He is currently serving as Treasurer of Poly Columbus.

Dawn is an ordained and licensed Pagan clergy in the State of Ohio, with a passion for alternative weddings. She has presided over many transgender, poly, pagan, and leather weddings and handfastings. She believes that being a Clergy in her chosen religion is both a blessing and a responsibility, and actively mentors people in the community. She is recognized as a leader in the local Pagan Community and facilitates a very successful Pagan spiritual study group in Columbus, OH. She also offers healing as a Reiki Master, shadow mentor, and teacher. As a Qadishtu (Priestess of Sacred Sexuality), she uses the appropriate combination of these styles to help heal those that come to her with wounded hearts.

Together, Dan and dawn have founded/co-created numerous social and support groups, such as The Forum and The Leather Swing. They have given powerful presentations with numerous organizations, including Leather groups (such as National Leather Association and SEO BDSM), spiritual events (such as AEON), as well as events including Dark Odyssey and Sensuality Fair.

Dan and dawn consistently receive excellent reviews for their combined workshops, demos, and presentations. As they move between clear and simple presentation of facts and information to personal stories of thier fascinating past experiences together, they energize their audiences with "the ease and grace of people that enjoy what they are doing".

LadyDi (of the south) and leathermatt
LadyDi is a polyamorous, bisexual FemmeDomme currently residing in Columbus, OH. She is the recording secretary for NLA-Columbus and also an active member of Adventures in Sexuality, a pan-poly BDSM organization in Central Ohio. Her shoe and boot collection has grown rapidly in her decade in the alternative sexuality scene and she's never one to walk away from a hot pair of heels, particularly if they are red and shiny.

leathermatt is a 40 year old fetishist and service submissive living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He first discovered his love of leather, latex, PVC and all things shiny when he was eight years old. He has been active in PEP St. Louis, The Fetish Network, St. Louis Leather & Lace, F.L.O.G., Arizona Power Exchange (APEX), Club X, NLA-Columbus and Adventures in Sexuality (AIS). Over the years he has had the good fortune to experience a wide range of domination styles and the privilege to serve some of the finest Dominant Women in North America.

lil@tala
lil.tala is a work in progress. She is a 29 yr old mother to a beautiful little girl who shows her new ways to see the world.

lil.tala is a submissive with slave tendencies who serves MasterGrizly.

She entered the local BDSM community as a top/switch some ten years ago. She later became involved and worked with DownriverBDSM to produce Camp Fetish in Michigan , helping plan several events. She helped create and operate a local Wiccan non profit, helping to write their newsletter. She is a large supporting force, helping MasterGrizly plan and execute each monthly munch and Dungeon party.

�I write articles on BDSM issues, I worship my religion, and I have returned to school to complete my degree. Every day I learn more about MY submission and I find I am healing old wounds too. I find myself happier, more comfortable with being a woman and feminine, and there is more laughter in my life.�

Master Grizly
MasterGrizly entered the �public� lifestyle in 1995, playing privately before that. He prefers the control of D/s relationships but enjoys all aspects of the BDSM lifestyle. He is skilled with the whip, flogger, rope, cane, and other various tools. Owner/Moderator of the DetroitSpace Yahoo group & monthly Dungeon parties. Member & supporter of Michigan Rope and NCSF. He has presented at MiChatOhs, SMARTFEST, Plan B of Columbus, CARPE DIEM, Ohio Leather Fest 02 & 03, Camp Fetish, and Season�s Beatings 07. Presentations include Female Genitorture, Mummification, Single Tails, Flogging, Bondage on a Budget, Waxing & Knife play. MasterGrizly runs his own computer company, throws monthly Dungeon parties and builds BDSM Dungeon furniture. MasterGrizly@yahoo.com

Michelle Belanger
Michelle Belanger is a person who wears many hats in many different communities and she has been described as a modern "renaissance man." An arresting figure of six foot one, she is sought after in the BDSM community for her presentations on energy work and sensual knife play, among other topics. She is also an internationally renown expert on the modern vampire community and best-selling author whose works include "The Psychic Vampire Codex" (Weiser 2004), "Sacred Hunger" (Dark Moon 2005) and "Psychic Dreamwalking" (Weiser 2006). A fetish model and dom, Michelle can be seen in the music video "Shadow Dancer," the art book, "This Trembling Flesh," and she was featured in a special Halloween-themed gallery showing at the Chamber in Columbus, Ohio. Michelle has appeared in documentaries on both sides of the Atlantic, including shows on A&E, the History Channel, WE!, and Britain's XYTV. A talented vocalist, she also sings with the Chicago dark metal band URN and Cleveland's haunting ensemble, Nox Arcana.
She also has a website you may visit.

Mistress Shadow
Mistress Shadow is an Arkansas Pro-Domme who originally hails from the San Francisco area. Involved in the BDSM family for 20 plus years, she has become well known in the Mid-west for her work with electrical play, especially the Violet Wand (which her slave refers to as the Violent Wand). She has presented at Beat Me and Spanksgiving in St. Louis, as well as Great Lakes Leather Alliance in Indianapolis. She is in great demand at local clubs and groups for hands-on demonstrations. Having her own large, private dungeon, and a full-time practice dummy slave, has allowed her to create and master many and varied techniques with the violet wand. As a practitioner of Safe, Sane, and Consensual BDSM, as well as Risk Aware Consensual Kink, safety issues are an integral part of any of her presentations.

Ms Tina
Ms. Tina has been active in the lifestyle for 20 years, first as a submissive and for the last 14 years as a Dominant and community activist. She describes herself as sadistic, poly, romantic who has a special fondness for the 'boys' of our community, especially her husband Robert whom she met at a SMART meeting. Ms. Tina is one of the original founders of SMART, the Ohio Leather Fest, the Ohio Leather Coalition and has presented at many events and meetings across the country, including the Leather Leadership Conference. After a brief absence from the public scene she is back and bringing her style of humor and education and working again with the SMARTFest Planning Committee. Outside of the lifestyle she enjoys cooking, blogging, traveling and her two dominant pugs.

Rita Seagrave
Rita Seagrave has worked as a professional dominatrix, adult toy salesgirl, Lusty Lady stripper, sex advice columnist, and college instructor. Born in New Jersey in 1973, raised in San Francisco, and educated in Massachusetts, Rita found her true home in the Ohio kink community, where she is a member of MAsT-Columbus, Adventures in Sexuality, and NLA-Columbus. She's given presentations and workshops at Ohio Leather Fest, Sterling Shadow, SORE, Dark Odyssey, Black Rose, Leather Leadership Conference, TES, Floating World, COPE, MSBD, and others. Her writing has appeared in Power Exchange Magazine, $pread Magazine, and numerous literary journals. Rita is a deaf poly switch who enjoys playing with couples, groups, and individuals of all sizes, genders, and sexual orientations. Her other interests include traveling, dog-walking, painting, and spirituality. Find Rita online at kinkmogul.com.

*Presenters subject to change without notice. Those listed are confirmed as of 02/11/08

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