Y’all, it’s been a helluva ride these last 2 years and we are all tired. No one I know is operating at full capacity right now. But we still are working on new ways to connect and grow together. Versatackle and Mx. Pucks A'Plenty are teaming up to bring you an online conference to explore ways to do that better - ways that don’t ignore the elephants in the room and welcome your whole, worn-out, beautiful selves.
We are bringing together an amazing community of people to share what we’ve learned about making online events meaningful, connecting, engaging, and healing. Please join us!
Pricing
Because we want this event to be accessible to all, we are offering a sliding scale for tickets: $0-$50. If you can afford to be more generous, there is also an option to pay for someone else's free access by buying a buy-one-give-one ticket at $100. Each purchase helps us pay presenters and add new features and accessibility tools to our platform. We greatly value your support.
About Versatackle, your hosts and platform
Versatackle is a platform for online events that prioritises accessibility, inclusion, and autonomy. Our mission is to create a space where healing the world is possible. We believe that it is essencial to build for the most marginalized people first. We are a scrappy, early stage start-up and we welcome your partnership, feedback, and whole beautiful complicated selves.
Featured presenters
Mx. Pucks A'Plenty, Emcee
Mx. Pucks A’Plenty is the Director of Junk in da Trunk, the Michelle Obama of Burlesque, and Seattle’s Own Mxtress of Thiccness! Pucks is the founder and co-producer behind What the Funk?! An All BIPOC Burlesque Festival. The Femme Daddy that your mother should have warned you about, Pucks is not only a performer and a producer, but stage manager and themcee.
When they aren’t burlesquin’, Pucks is a sex educator, an active sex worker activist, and is one of the National Coordinators for #OldProProject. You can catch them on Instagram under @_sexuali.tea_ as co-host to an intersectional sex education podcast with a mission to ‘queer up’ sex ed or check out their pleasure lifestyle IG @thehedonistrealist. They have taught at Leather Reign, Virtual Intimacy Retreat 3, The Gathering NW, the BDSM Writers' Con, and Thrive Conference. They have also been a guest speaker at Brown University, Planned Parenthood of New York, the University of Washington, and Antioch University.
Pucks is Black, Queer, Nonbinary femme raising a kiddo in the suburbs.
Ta Corrales & Liz Hunt,
Hands-On Workshop: Grandpa's Paper Airplane
Ta Corrales is an MIT-trained mechanical engineer, social innovation facilitator, and impact entrepreneur from Heredia, Costa Rica. She's the CPO & Co-Founder of Smith Assembly where she gets to work on her passion, designing a more just world through more equitable products and businesses. As an MIT D-Lab Innovation Practice Affiliate, she has led and facilitated participatory social innovation, inclusive technology, and equitable design processes in 20+ countries. She's patented, has published scientific work on material chemistry, and is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers San Jose Hub. When not working, she enjoys salsa dancing and walking in nature.
During her 25-year career (at startups and companies like Google, Starbucks, and frog), Liz led and grew amazing teams around the world and delivered hundreds of cutting-edge solutions. In 2018, she realized she needed to work in cultures that were more consistently welcoming, inspirational, and healthy (like the experiences she’d had at two International Development Design Summits in Botswana). Liz co-founded Smith Assembly to share what she’s learned about how hands-on building activities deepen human connection and how inclusion drives impact. Her company models a more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and just way to do business. When not working, she loves being outdoors (especially on the water).
Sar Surmack,
Boundaries for Burnout
Sar is the director of the Consent Academy, author of "The Consent Primer", and works as a marriage and family therapist specializing in identity and couples’ therapy. As a therapist, Sar focuses on non-monogamy, sex & gender, trans, and BDSM/kink. As a sex-positive educator Sar teaches about Consent, Communication Skills, and Identity. In their downtime, Sar is an author, gamer, and seeker of interesting people.
Devyn Stone,
Creating Affirming Virtual Events
Devyn Stone (he/him) is a consent and inclusion educator, author, and alternative lifestyles coach. He has a passion for giving and receiving education, offering over 40 classes on topics ranging from psychology and mental health to consent and negotiation to leadership and inclusion. He believes in diversity not division, and actualizes that idea by promoting strongly affirming spaces and interactions.
While Devyn spends most of his time teaching he also enjoys organizing events, volunteering, moderating, speaking, and emceeing! He is the Founder of Pragmatically Kinking, hosting over 100 virtual events per year, including the THRIVE conference, a 3 day virtual event with 30+ speakers, classes, discussions, and panels.
Devyn also often coaches groups, organizations, and individuals. He has programs ranging from alternative relationships, leadership, organization, adult education, event coordinating, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence.
To keep up with his work and get in touch please visit https://DevynStone.com
Robin Eastman & Julian Dockhorn,
Growth Mindset in a Toxic World
Robin Eastman and Julian Dockhorn founded Versatackle together at the start of 2020, just before a global pandemic changed the way we think about online events permanently.
Julian is a software engineer, Scrum master, product owner, founder, and lifelong learner. Their priority is making sure we can quickly and accurately learn what's important, and what isn't.
Robin is fundamentally a generalist who's focused on people. She wants to learn how we can use technology to build human connections and create the world we want to live in. Professionally, she has been an HR leader at Amazon, a case manager for adults with developmental disabilities, and a massage therapist. Personally, she likes creating art, playing games, and being mediocre at team sports.
Dahlia Kash,
BURNT: Self-Care & nurturing the diabled body during traumatic events
Dahlia Kash is a Burlesque, Drag, and Vocal perfomer & producer, as well as a sex worker, caretaker, and Energetic Healer. Performing since she could walk, and studying the art of healing through sexwork & therapeutic touch since 2002, Dahlia puts time and care into assisting her clients in living their best lives.
Savannah Sly,
Panel: Energizing, not Depleting
Savannah Sly is a musician, Dominatrix, and sex worker rights advocate who resides in Seattle, WA. Savannah enjoys meeting people, rocking worlds, and spinning plates. Learn more about their work at SavannahSly.com.
