Peggy Fiandaca, AICP, Partners for Strategic Action , Inc.: Ms. Fiamdaca is President of PSA. She has demonstrated exceptional planning service to the State of Arizona. She was Community Manager for the Arizona Department of Commerce developing a strong rural planning support program as well as initiating the annual; Board and Commissions Training seminars. Ms. Fiandaca created her own planning consultant firm with Curt Dunham, AICP. She has developed award winning plans and public participation programs for projects throughout the Southwest. She, with Curt, also bought and developed the Lawrence Dunham Vineyards in Cochise County. Ms. Fiandaca is now President of the Arizona Winegrowers Association. Ms. Fiandaca was named the 2010 AzPA Historic Planning Pioneer.

Jim Mazzocco, AICP, Planning Administrator, City of Tucson has worked in the planning field in the Tucson area for the past 31 years. Jim graduated from the University of Arizona with a Masters in Urban Planning. He was the Pima County Planning Official for 13 years. He served as President of the Arizona County Planning Directors Association for two years and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He worked as Development Administrator for the Town of Marana, AZ for two years prior to going to Tucson where for the past six years he has focused on infill and sustainable policy development.

Merrill Eisenberg, Ph.D. is an applied anthropologist who received her Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut in 1984, Since that time she has been involved in policy development and community change in the US and abroad, working on issues including material and child health, sexual health and reproduction, community health planning, disability rights, tobacco use, and most recently, the obesity epidemic. In 2010-2012, Dr. Eisenberg led the Policy Team on a large obesity prevention grant (Communities Putting Prevention to Work) received by the Pima County Health Department from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. One aspect of that grant was focused on increasing access to fresh and healthy food for people in low-income communities. One approach taken was to increase local production of food, especially in neighborhoods without access to affordable foods, as food production activity is related to many policy issues, including land use, Dr. Eisenberg became involved in land use and planning issues, and particularly in Tucson’s Sustainable Land use Code Integration Project. Since retiring in March 2012, Dr. Eisenberg has continued her involvement in this project on a voluntary basis.

Greg Peterson, planner and owner of the Urban Farm is an unlikely foodie mostly sharing his passion about how to grow food in our desert city. His mission is “inspire people to embrace their own greatness”, which he does daily by living what he speaks. Greg resides at the Urban Farm, an environmental showcase home in the heart of Phoenix, which he opens periodically for tours and co-runs the Urban Farm Nursery at the Orchard on 12th Street. Greg’s latest project is called the Local Food Economic model, which he co-created with Miguel Jardine of VermiSoks. This model frames out seven areas that need to be in place for a thriving local food system to exist.

Joan Baron is an environmental artist and educator who focuses on the integration of basic sustainable design principles using unique building materials and construction techniques. This diversity can be experienced in public art works around the valley and in homes and schools where she has served as artist in residence. Her driving mantra is “place making” Whether edible landscapes, healing gardens community centers or large commercial projects, Joan believes in the collective experience as key to successful community planning and long range development. She is sought after to serve as collaborator on teams with architects, planners, developers and cities as they seek to refine their vocabulary of solutions for urban growth and food desert issues. She facilitates workshops and tours of the Edible Landscape Project and Food in the Alley as she explains her working process that inevitably inspires others to rethink their own spaces