His fascination with wheels and water has brought him and KSW together. He is known for his abilities as a master fort builder, unaffiliated flag waver, breakdown maintenance specialist, and an artistic kindler. Lesser known affiliations include Northwest Boy Choir, Seattle Peace Theatre, Nana & Pappy's Farm volunteer, and Extra Action Auxiliary member. As a Bay Area location specialist, Stephen has provided countless hours as a conductor/safety engineer on various vessels. Collage educated, plumber, electrician, opportunist, and General Contractor for hire.

Bringing a focused and calm frame of mind with a world-class aesthetic to the team, Bree is a valued Staff Member and a fully qualified Boiler Operator. She has a decade of theatrical design experience, she is a graduate of UC Berkeley, and Bree is in her element when operating KSW equipment. When she's not astride a steam engine, she saves the day when KSW needs aesthetic support so we may keep our performances and presentations looking their consistent best.

Her dairy and soybean farm upbringing gave her an early appreciation for old farm equipment. When she first laid eyes on the Case steam engine she was hooked. Currently, she's a textile artist in Oakland and recently transplanted from San Francisco; she is still adjusting to life with a car. Rachel's degree is in photography, however the IRS has known her to earn her way as a graphic designer, factory worker, professional gift wrapper and envelope licker. She has a gift & talent for organization and lucid dreaming. She is rather certain that she was Japanese in a past life

The self-proclaimed old man of the group, steam MacGyver & Steam Wizard, was born in Rhode Island with a recessive steam gene. As a boy, Dick remembers visiting grandparents on one of the last steam passenger trains. That experience stuck in his mind and was to forever shape his later life. He served 4 years in the Navy and later his professional career bloomed in the high tech sector of the semiconductor industry, wherein he developed processes to make now ubiquitous computer chips. To decompress from the frantic pace of the tech sector he would revert to early engineering in his spare time, building two full size steam powered launches and several steam vehicles. His artistic talent was gained from his mother (a RISD student) and remains totally undeveloped. He's recently been profiled in the San Jose Mercury News.

If the words you know limit the thoughts you can express and the instruments you possess determine the music you can make -- similarly, the machines you have determine what you can do and ultimately who you are.
Interest in the co-evolution of us and our machines, William Francis has taken an interest in many retro-technologies including vacuum tubes, horn loaded speakers, vintage motorcycles and the motive/industrial implications of steam power. As a counterpoint to his professional career in the tech industry -- helping to write the software that manages the backend of a large popular website -- free time is often spent exploring the path of the technologies & design that eventually lead to a million things going right every day. He's also interested in the decline of places and technologies and has spent time exploring numerous abandoned insane asylums, hospitals and factories. His photographs have appeared in numerous galleries and several print publications including FHM, Physics World, as well as on the cover of Clamor magazine.

Having attained the status of sainthood for her tolerance of all things Vennerbeck, Karen is familiar with steam powered horseless carriages, and heavy pieces of metal and rust adorning her back yard. One of her fondest (steam) pleasures is piloting the 30 ft. steam launch S.L. Narragansett. Usually associated with the biotech and semiconductor industries, Karen has a natural bent towards technical accuracy. She is widely known for her skills at directing the connection of the truck and boat trailer using only hand signals, frequently reverting to the use of a single finger!

EE by training, wrench-turner/PC-rebooter by trade, Troye comes from a long lineage of auto-mechanics.  As an army officer in the 82nd Airborne Division (and later with the 3rd Army HQ/CFLCC command, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait), he jumped out of perfectly good airplanes, crawled through the mud, and put in long-haul fiber optic and satellite links.  His civilian day job with Siemens Healthcare is half-mechanical, half electrical/software, but his real passions are steam and photography.  (And a bit of assembly language programming (8051) on the side).  He can be found in his native habitat under Wilhelmina, grinder in hand, doing an Al Jolson impersonation.

Mr. Monahan has a M.A. is B.S. and a B.S. in M.E. During the day he designs things that old men around the world go crazy for. They've never seen his face, they've only seen his jewels. Sadly, these wares are better traveled that he. As a youth he learned the dying art of sheet metal forming with everyone's favorite tool, the English Wheel. When he was still sneaking into bars, he was also working at American Airlines as the first ever journeyman mechanic. Before that he was a pubescent oiler for San Francisco's Jeremiah O'Brian.
He's a whiz with fast cars and can think his way out of any auto or motorcycle issue that comes his way. He's designed motorcycles, built crane platforms, machines for adult activities and much more... When he was finally old enough to buy his own Jameson he bought the infamous Coffee Club Too and houses DJs 24/7 to entertain the 5-0 of San Mateo.
His favorite way to skip out of jury duty is to feign menstrual cramps of ask for a day to accommodate scent gland expression.
Brought to KSW through world class porn, he has graced the shop with dry sarcastic humor since early '09.

Zachary Rukstela is an industrial artist, steam dork and "Dad" of KSW. In August of 2008 KSW needed a new home, so he used his contracting business, Rukstela Heavy Industries LLC, to secure a new steam shop and quality long term industrial art production space in West Oakland. As a wee lad, he attended countless agricultural shows featuring steam engines and vintage steam technology. For the La Contessa, aka the Desert Galleon, he designed the electrical layout, implemented it, and maintained it for every year it travelled on the dusty former sea of the Black Rock Desert. He's a long time volunteer Firemen/Water Tender on the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, a steam driven liberty-class ship first launched in 1943. He also volunteers and works closely with The Roots of Motive Power in Willits, California. He is a member of the rock band Rig for Red and plays drums around the Bay Area. During the day, he's a freelance Engineering Project Manager, and manages, 2525 Mandela Parkway, an industrial arts production space located in sunny West Oakland.