Bridging Communities: Local Voices for Local Impact

A Conversation with Scott Kratz, Director of the 11th Street Bridge Park

Panel discussion to follow with Debra Garcia y Griego, Director of the Santa Fe Arts Commission and Joseph Kunkel, Executive Director of Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative.

Tuesday, June 13th from 5:30- 7:00pm
at the New Mexico History Museum Auditorium
113 Lincoln Ave, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Tickets are $5.00

By Creative Santa Fe

Scott Kratz, Director of the 11th Street Bridge Park, will present “Bridging Communities: Local Voices for Local Impact.” Scott will review concrete methods to engage community members in the process of developing equitable communities, and how anchor projects can create inclusive economic opportunities that connect, engage, and improve the lives of the residents of those areas.
Cyndi Conn will moderate a discussion with Kratz, Debra Garcia y Griego and Joseph Kunkel on how the ideas and strategies developed by Kratz and the 11th Street Bridge Project team can further community-based planning efforts throughout Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico. The panelists bring experience in culturally sustainable development, community-based design, and leveraging the power of creativity and the arts for equitable development. Both Garcia y Griego and Kunkel are considered national experts in their respective fields, working with organizations including Americans for the Arts, ArtPlace, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Rauschenberg Foundation.

Debra Garcia y Griego is the Executive Director of the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission. She is responsible for implementing the City’s support of arts and cultural affairs, including leading the City’s first cultural planning process, “Culture Connects Santa Fe,” with consultant Dr. Estevan Rael-Galvez. Her 20 years of experience as an arts administrator include service at Museum Campus Chicago, Chicago a cappella, Southwest Theater & Dance Festival, and University of New Mexico Department of Theater & Dance. She serves on the Board of Directors for Americans for the Arts and was recently appointed as an at-larger member of the United States Urban Arts Federation, an alliance of local arts agency executives from the nation’s 60 largest cities. Garcia y Griego holds a Master of Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico.

Joseph Kunkel, a Northern Cheyenne Tribal Member, is the executive director of the Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative (SNCC) and Visiting Eminent Scholar at Arizona State University’s School of Engineering at the Del E. Webb School of Construction. His professional career centers on community-based design, ranging from material research, fabrication and construction to community-based planning, design and development in Indian Country. As an Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow, Joseph worked directly with SNCC and the Santo Domingo Tribal Housing Authority. His most recent work with SNCC has been to research and share exemplary Native American Indian housing projects and processes nationwide. This research has developed into emerging best practices for Indian Country, leading to an online Healthy Homes Road Map for affordable housing development in Indian Country, funded by HUD’s Policy, Development, and Research Office.