Theme: Food for Thought

Join TEDxTucson to take a deep dive in local eating, food history, innovative flavors, culture and heritage that will inspire a thought for food and makes Tucson a UNESCO city of gastronomy.

We will be exploring new ideas about food systems, and Southern Arizona.

Leo Rich Theater
260 S Church Ave
Tucson, Arizona, 85701
United States

Jesús García

Ethnobotanist

Jesús has been the director of the Kino Heritage Fruit Trees Project. The goal of this project is to locate, propagate and replant historically and horticulturally appropriate varieties of fruit trees brought to the Pimería Alta region,(Southern Arizona and Northern Sonora, Mexico) by the first Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries starting in the late 1600s. From Hopi country in Arizona to the tip of Baja California Sur, Mexico, this project has revived traditional agricultural knowledge of the region. García believes that creating awareness of heirloom fruit-tree varieties, traditional methods of cultivation, and their conservation will help ensure sustainable food systems. He is an ecologist and ethnobotanist working at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, teaching natural history & cultural programs in southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. He has BA in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and a minor in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Arizona.

Jon Wirtis

Chef + educator

Chef Jon is a Certified Executive Chef and a top graduate at Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Served his externship at the famed Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California as a Roundsman. Sous Chef at Croce’s Restaurant in San Diego and then moved up to Banquet Chef of the San Diego Marriott. Recruited by the Le Cordon Bleu Schools of North America, taught Garde Manger, Contemporary Cuisine, and the International Kitchen and supported the student run restaurant. Now with the YWCA rebranded Corazon Café & Catering, developed training programs and social enterprise. Planning & building Corazon Incubator & Commissary Kitchen which will help launch and grow food businesses in South Tucson for low income food entrepreneurs.

Katie Haverly

Singer + songwriter

Katie sings songs for people who love real songs. Channeling Joni Mitchell but updated and rocked up some. She has has a voices that can lift and soothe, create tension and then release it. It suggests adoration of golden-age (jazzy) folk-pop like Rickie Lee Jones, and Joni Mitchell as well as Fiona Apple. Yet her songwriting alone could take center stage.

Sian Proctor

Geoscientist + author

Dr. Sian Proctor is an analog astronaut, geoscientist with a passion for space exploration. She lived three space living simulations, 4-months in the Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS), 2-weeks in the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), and 2-weeks in the LunAres Moon Habitat. When we solve issues dealing with space exploration, we also solve for issues on Earth. She is passionate about how we can more efficiently feed astronauts on Mars and humans on Earth. Food is a combination of nutrients and water. We can become more sustainable on Earth if we remove the water from food before we ship it around the world. Dr. Proctor is a geology, sustainability, and planetary science professor at South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, Arizona. She has a B.S. in Environmental Science, an M.S. in Geology, and a Ph.D. in Science Education. She was a finalist for the 2009 NASA Astronaut Program. She is the author of the upcoming cookbook Meals for Mars.