Tom Kovach, Executive Director
Andrew Willett, Editor

Every transition brings its own unique energy, and as we look ahead, we find ourselves standing at the precipice of a highly dynamic cultural cycle: the Year of the Fire Horse.

In the traditional 60-year Chinese zodiac cycle, the fire horse represents a rare convergence of passion, untamed energy, and decisive action. Fire is a catalyst—it clears away the old to make fertile ground for the new—while the horse symbolizes momentum, freedom, and the courage to forge an independent path. Together, they don’t just hint at change; they demand it.

Change can often feel unsettling, especially when it moves with the swiftness and heat of a fire horse. Yet, it is precisely during these high-energy eras that the most profound growth occurs. It is a time for bold visioning, for stepping out of familiar comfort zones, and for trusting the momentum of our collective journey.

As our organization moves through its own meaningful season of transition, we are embracing this spirit of renewal. We are honoring the incredibly solid foundations we have built together while turning our eyes toward the horizon.

Transformation is not a solo journey. The true power of a fire horse is realized when its energy is channeled into shared purpose. We invite each of you to bring your passion, your insights, and your unique presence to this next chapter. Let us ride toward the future together with open hearts and steady focus.

A Letter to the Community From the President of the Board

Dear BE Community, 

The search committee includes representatives from the Board, current leadership, faculty, and community supporters, including the current Executive Director and donor representation. Care was taken to ensure meaningful diversity of lived experience and perspective across gender, sexuality, race, age, and relationship to the School. The group includes faculty representing women, men, and queer communities, and spans five decades of age, from members in their 30s through their 70s. Rather than approaching representation as symbolic, the intention has been to bring together a committee capable of thoughtful discernment, accountability, and care for the future of the School. The Board is deeply appreciative of the committee members who have agreed to offer their time, energy, experience, and thoughtful engagement to this important process. 

The committee will begin its work in early June. Its responsibilities include finalizing the position profile and recruitment process, conducting outreach and candidate review, participating in interviews, and ultimately forwarding finalist recommendations to the Board of Directors. The process is designed to balance confidentiality, fairness, transparency, and community trust throughout the search.

The anticipated timeline includes committee work through the summer and early fall, finalist interviews in October/November, and a target onboarding period in late 2026. While leadership transitions inevitably bring change, the Board is approaching this process with deep appreciation for the School’s history and strong commitment to its future.

I also want to express my gratitude to the broader BE community for the trust, care, and presence you continue to bring to this moment of transition. The School exists because of the many people who have invested their hearts, labor, courage, creativity, and eros into this community over the years. Leadership transitions can bring both excitement and uncertainty; the Board is committed to moving through this process with integrity, openness, and care. We will continue providing updates to the community as the search progresses in the months ahead. 

In connection and care for the path ahead, 

Raine Brown (they/them)

President

NBES Board of Directors

Honoring Steve

Recently, I announced that The School was launching several initiatives to honor the legacy of Steve Schwartzberg. 

We established the Dr. Steve Schwartzberg Scholarship Fund, made possible by his generous bequest to the School, intending to raise $100,000. The Queer Consciousness Fund has generously provided a $10,000 matching grant. At Steve’s signature retreat, Touching the Heart of Stillness, we raised $5,500 in pledges, and we have already received an additional donation of $2,500. We hope to meet the matching grant this month. You can contribute here.

The Weekly Meditation Sangha that Steve started continues and is growing. It is now led by four rotating leaders. This structure ensures that the practice remains dynamic and sustainable, providing a weekly space for the community to sit in the stillness Steve so expertly navigated.

We have also launched a cooperative sponsorship initiative with Easton Mountain to benefit younger participants for Creativity Ritual and the Erotic Impulse, a new intensive conceived by Steve in his last few months. If you would like to support this new initiative, please mention sponsorship when you donate at this link. Finally, an on-demand collection of Steve’s Dharma talks is available here.

Announcing the Body Electric School Erotic Embodiment Coach Training 

For many years, I’ve felt there is a real need for this kind of training. So many people are longing to reconnect with their bodies, their desire, their erotic vitality, and their capacity for intimacy and aliveness. At the same time, many helping professionals

recognize how important the erotic dimension is in human flourishing, yet have had little access to grounded, ethical, and embodied training that prepares them to guide this work skillfully. This program is a response to that need.

Rooted in the Body Electric tradition, the training integrates somatic coaching, erotic

embodiment, ethical relational practice, and deep personal inquiry. Participants will learn how to support clients in exploring sensation, desire, shame, pleasure, boundaries, emotional truth, and erotic aliveness with compassion, presence, and integrity.

Participants will be asked to explore their own relationship to erotic energy, authenticity,

vulnerability, and transformation as part of the learning journey. I hope that graduates leave not only with practical coaching skills but also with a deeper sense of their own wholeness, groundedness, and capacity to hold space for others.

The training will include: live online teaching sessions, somatic and embodied practices, peer coaching and practice groups, supervision and mentorship, ethical and consent-based frameworks, an in-person retreat experience, and practice coaching with volunteer clients. One thing that feels especially important to name clearly: This training is open to people of all genders, identities, and orientations.

More than anything, I hope this training helps support the emergence of practitioners who can hold compassionate, skillful, and deeply human space for others who are navigating some of the most vulnerable and transformative aspects of their lives.

Registration for the program is open on the Body Electric website.
In the coming months, we’ll also be offering several live Question and Answer Sessions (June 10, July 8, August 12, and September 9) for those who would like to learn more, ask questions, and get a sense of whether this training feels aligned with their path. I look forward to sharing more soon. I hope you choose to join us!

Community Spotlight: Healing Together in the Grief Circle

Grief is rarely a simple thing, and it is certainly not something we were ever meant to carry alone. For those navigating the heavy weight of personal, ancestral, or collective sorrow, finding a safe harbor to unpack that burden can make all the difference.

Community member and long-time coordinator Doug Dreyer is inviting you into a sacred, peer-led space designed specifically for queer men to honor, tend to, and move through their grief in solidarity.

To Speak

To speak of sorrow works upon it moves it from its crouched place barring the way to and from the soul’s hall—out in the light it shows clear, whether shrunken or known as a giant wrath—discrete at least, where before its great shadow joined the walls and roof and seemed to uphold the hall like a beam. —Denise Levertov

The Grief Circle is an ongoing, peer-led gathering for those who feel a sense of belonging in the queer-brotherhood space. Meeting weekly and alternating between an online format and in-person gatherings in New York City, this circle offers a compassionate environment to witness one another without judgment.

This isn’t a therapy group or a seminar—it is a collaborative practice of presence. To ensure everyone feels secure bringing their whole selves to the table, the circle operates under a few vital community agreements:

• Strict Confidentiality: What is shared in the circle stays securely in the circle.
• No Unsolicited Advice: We are not here to “fix” things or minimize the pain. We are there to simply hold space.
• Radical Acceptance: Bring your stories, your silence, your tears, your rage, and yes, even your joy. Every single part of you is welcome.

The guiding philosophy of the space is simple: We are here. We see you. What you are feeling is real.

Gathering Details

• When: Tuesdays, 7:00–8:30 PM (Ongoing)
• Format: Weekly (Alternating between online and in-person)
• Cost: Free (Donations are gracefully accepted, but never required)

If you are ready to move your sorrow out of its crouched place and into the light of a supportive community, we welcome you. Enrollment in the Circle is open.If you have any questions or want to learn more before attending, please feel free to reach out directly to Doug at newyork@bodyelectric.org.