GUESTS

Charles Dunbar (aka Lex Winter) is a professional culture lecturer and Dungeon Master. Having been an active member of fandom for over 30 years, they received their MA in Fan Studies in 2011 and have been attending Tekko since 2014. Each year they strive to bring to the convention new perspectives on Japanese culture, gaming, music, and whatever else grabbed their attention during the 12 months between Tekkos. Sharing that passion is what drives them, and keeps them coming back.

Karl "Uncle Yo" Custer toured the national geek convention circuit starting in 2007, emceeing cosplay events and ranting in longform stand-up comedy which produced 2 DVD's, 5 albums, and even a fantasy puppet show and horror podcast on Youtube, Dungeon Crawlers and Chronicler's of Darkness, respectively. Since the pandemic, our plucky panelist presenter/playwright/puppeteer/podcaster panicked and acquired a Masters of Social Work from Yeshiva University in NYC. Now a licensed clinical social worker, Uncle Yo is your trauma-informed anime therapist, Karl applies this work to lectures like “Tabletop Roleplaying Games as…Therapy?” and “Shonen Training Arcs and Mental Health Coping Skills”.

Known as "Pittsburgh's Poetess", Rachel Ann Bovier has been writing poems and lyrics for countless years and providing messages of love, kindness, and support through her writing. Her poems have been dedicated to and featured in many local Pittsburgh businesses, and if you're driving down Bigelow Blvd you might just see her billboard!