Tumamoc Talks

Tumamoc Talks bring together University of Arizona research to the greater Tucson community. 

Local food plays a vital role in Southern Arizona by fostering community resilience and improving food security. This presentation will provide insights from a collaboration with the Pima County Food Alliance, a local food policy council, to identify key policy priorities for strengthening our regional food system and driving positive change. We will highlight innovative initiatives connected to this work, including launching a new urban water rate for small-scale farmers and developing a unique approach to public engagement through collective art making. 

Our speakers:

Gigi Owen is a research scientist with the Climate Assessment for the Southwest, a NOAA-funded research team at the University of Arizona. She is a qualitative human geographer with a background in political ecology, science and technology studies, and research evaluation. Her recent work involves partnering with a local food policy council to investigate societal, economic, and climate risk in southern Arizona’s local food system to support local planning and policymaking. 

Rachel Leih (she/her) is a research scientist on the Community Research, Evaluation and Development (CRED) Team at the University of Arizona, a team focused on conducting community-based research and evaluation that promotes the health and well-being of children, youth, and families throughout Arizona and the Southwest. Rachel has a background in psychology, education, and public health, and is particularly interested in opportunities to center capacity-building and community engagement in research and evaluation.

Tumamoc Talks are located at the Boathouse at the base of Tumamoc Hill. 

Learn more and RSVP at tumamoc-hill@arizona.edu.