Broad Perspectives

Christina Colosimo DO, MS, is a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery with the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson. She is the Director of Injury Prevention and Outreach, and the Associate Pediatric Trauma Director. Dr. Colosimo developed and launched the Hospital Based Gun Violence Prevention Initiative at the University of Arizona, which has over 30 community partners, as well as a school-based gun violence prevention program that has been introduced in 3 separate school districts. Throughout her training, Dr. Colosimo has received various accolades including 2023 Women in Medicine and Science Awardee and recipient of the 2024 John M. Templeton, Jr., MD Injury Prevention Research Scholarship. She was awarded a Proclamation by the Tucson Major in 2024 on her gun violence prevention work. She is Chair of the Injury Prevention Committee of The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma. She is also on the Tucson City Community Violence Advisory Board and Chairs the School Violence Subcommittee. Just a Girl by No Doubt was played on our music break.

Amanda Freed is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Registered Yoga Teacher, and a Certified Mindfulness & Meditation Instructor, (LMT, RYT, CMMI )with over 30 years’ experience healing, presenting, and teaching nationally and internationally. She has studied with academic scholars, Native American tribes, and renowned yoga and meditation masters. A lover of brain science as well as esoteric studies, Amanda has spent thousands of hours in contemplative practice and taught simple meditation methods to hundreds of people internationally. Amanda’s clients and students represent an extremely wide range of people including collegiate, pro, and Olympic athletes, stroke and traumatic brain injury survivors, corporate clients and more. Katy Perry – Roar was played on our music break.

Becky Buller is a multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter who has travelled the globe performing bluegrass music to underwrite what she calls “her insatiable songwriting habit.” She has written songs for three Grammy award-winning albums. She has made multiple guest appearances on WSM’s Grand Old Opry, which, for those who don’t know, is the most famous country music radio station in the world. Becky tours extensively with the Becky Buller Band. She’s released seven albums, and her newest album, Jubilee, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart in 2024. In 2023, Becky was inducted into the MN Music Hall of Fame. And we are so lucky she will be in town to play at the Desert Bluegrass Association Festival which is next weekend in Marana! Jennifer Johnson is Vice President of the Desert Bluegrass Association (aka DBA). She describes herself as “an old lady with a bass who learned how to spell septuagenarian this year.” Jennifer moved to Tucson in the 70’s and has spent 50 years working at various jobs including as a special education teacher. She retired a couple of years ago and started playing in a girl band with 3 other women who named themselves “The Notorious No Gig Girl Band!” She says they don’t take themselves too seriously. She plays music regularly and walk dogs at Pima Animal Care Center twice a week. Jennifer has been active in the DBA for many years and is going to tell us about this year’s festival.

Dr. Lisa Kopp is a Pediatric Oncologist and works in drug development in which she provides expertise in the design, execution and interpretation of oncology clinical trials. She also practices part-time caring for patients with pediatric cancer. She holds a Doctorate of Osteopathy from Michigan State University and a Master of Public Health with a specialization in Epidemiology EPA DEEM IOLOGY from The University of Arizona. Beginning with children and cancer, serving in advocacy and social justice to those with little or no voice has always been critical to Lisa’s core. She became involved in the gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action shortly after the Uvalde mass shooting. She is currently serving as the state legislative lead which allows her to fight for gun sense legislation, hoping to have an impact on the public health crisis of gun violence which affects all people of Arizona. We played Pink – Raise Your Glass on our music break.

Connie Brannock is a Blues Force of Nature! She took the Tucson music scene by storm after she retired from the Army National Guard as Command Sergeant Major. Connie says, “A pivotal moment for me was my decision to enlist in the US Army. My friends thought I was nuts, yet the military helped me find and nurture my best self. Twenty-two years later, that best self danced into Tucson, where I live and play today.” She is now the bandleader of The Little House of Funk and its many variations that play frequently around town. But she is also a woman of many other talents, too. In this show we talk about a book she has come out with that has the songs from a children’s album that she recorded in 2020 called Snorts and Rattles – Songs of the Desert Southwest. The book is full of the poetic lyrics about creatures that live in our desert.

Caitlin Schmidt and Susan Barnett are co-founders of Tucson Spotlight, a new digital news publication in Tucson. Caitlin has lived in Tucson for 20 years and spent a decade reporting for the Arizona Daily Star before co-founding the Tucson Agenda. She has won numerous awards for her reporting. She’s an adjunct instructor at the University of Arizona School of Journalism and sits on the boards of several professional organizations. Susan Barnett is a native Tucsonan who previously worked for La Estrella de Tucson, the Arizona Daily Star’s Spanish-language publication, and the Tucson Agenda. She’s pursuing a master’s degree in bilingual journalism and has worked as a talk show host and digital producer at various local outlets. Linda Ronstadt – La Cigarra, was played on our music break.

Dee played in the DuPage Symphony Orchestra in Chicago. She moved to SaddleBrooke in 2006. She started taking lessons here in Tucson from Dennis Bourret who she felt was a wonderful teacher. He helped her get back up to speed. She started looking for an orchestra to play with. Dee Schroer found the orchestra, and she plays violin with the Southern AZ Symphony Orchestra (or SASO). She also served as President of their Board for several years. It’s incredible how much skill and precision it takes to play in an orchestra. Dee explains everything from rehearsal to the different roles and functions of the orchestra, and the discipline it requires following intricate cues. Played on our music break: Four Seasons Op 8 Spring: Allegro by Itzhak Perlman

Marilyn Fitzgerald is a life-style coach, training facilitator, and speaker with a focus on holistic health. As the president of Spirit-Mind-Body LLC and M.D.F. Communications Inc., she has been a contributing writer to many health and wellness publications including Conscious Choice magazine. She was the former co-host of the Les Brown Radio Show, which focused on personal development topics. She is the author of Change Your Mind,Change Your Life: The Spirit of a Winner – A Guided Wellness Journal. golden by jill scott of the album beautifully human: words and sounds vol. 2

Pam Simon served as Community Outreach Coordinator for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords since the Congresswoman first took office in 2007. Before working in the congressional office Pam taught middle school and high school for over 20 years in both Washington State and Arizona. On January 8, 2011, Pam was shot in the arm and chest while staffing the Congresswoman at a Congress on your Corner event in Tucson. Since retiring from the congressional office she has served on the staff of Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Everytown for Gun Safety and has been an advocate for gun violence prevention. She currently volunteers with Moms Demand Action and the Everytown Survivor Network to promote common sense gun legislation at the local, state and national level. In 2014 Pam was named a White House Champion of Change for her work on gun violence prevention. Pam also served on the January 8 Memorial Foundation board. She is grateful for the creation of a permanent memorial to honor the lives taken on January 8, 2011 and to recognize the remarkable way in which the community came together in the aftermath of the tragedy. music played on our break For good – wicked the musical – Kristin chenoweth and Idina menzel

Melissa Hosten, is the Director of the University of Arizona Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers. (aka CRR). Melissa’s areas of focus include mathematics for girls and data science for young children. She is a former President of Women and Mathematics Education and is active in Arizona Math Leaders and the Arizona Association of Mathematics Teachers. Brave by Sara Bareilles was played on our music break.

Nanette Robinson, choreographer, somatic educator and dancer is ZUZI! Dance Co-Founder and Artistic Director, holds a BFA in Dance from Temple University. She is thrilled to be a part of ZUZI! which is in its 25th year. It has been her home and artistic toolbox for creating dances, teaching and working with all levels, abilities and ages of dance and movement lovers. played on our music break Red virgin soil by Agnes obel off the album Citizen of Glass

Kathy Ogden’s daughter Courtney, was diagnosed at 9 months old with neuroblastoma, a pediatric solid tumor cancer that usually presents on the adrenal gland. Very sadly, she passed away at home, Thanksgiving Day, 1999. Today, we are here to talk about the non-profit Courtney’s Courage, dedicated to raising funds for childhood cancer research, specifically neuroblastoma, and to assist with support services for pediatric cancer patients being treated at Banner Children’s – Diamond Children’s Medical Center and their families. Below is the song we played for our music break.

Lara Ruggles is a Tucson singer/songwriter who performs electronic pop under the name SharkkHeartt and she also performs acoustic folk songs under her own name. She’s released an EP, two albums, and four standalone singles since 2011. She’s toured the United States at least a dozen times – by herself, with her own band, and as a musician and crew member for other artists such as Gregory Alan Isakov and poet Andrea Gibson. She says the biggest moments of her career so far have included opening a Christmas show for LeAnn Rimes and being selected as the artist-in-residence at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. That allowed her to spend a month on the Big Island writing and recording new songs, and having close encounters with more sea turtles than she could keep count.

You’ve probably seen her playing around town playing in different places, and she was a finalist in the 2024 Tucson Folk Festival Stefan George Songwriting Contest. “Lizzie” is a 19 year old – Tucson born and raised – indie folk musician & songwriter. Her brand new EP “Turn it into Art” was released on November 29th! Lizzie says with her songwriting she is ready to make you dance, make you laugh, and make you cry all at the same time. Playing her acoustic guitar and singing, Lizzie plays all over town at venues and events such as the Tucson Folk Festival, Hotel Congress, The Fourth Avenue Street Fairs, Monterey Court, Espresso Art Cafe, Groundworks, and more. She hopes to spread the joy of music, bring people together, and touch as many hearts as she can possibly reach!

For nearly three decades, Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) has been observed nationally in October as an opportunity to bring light to the issue of domestic violence and its effects on victims, survivors, families and communities. Self-taught painter, VaiBionic has exhibited her work on a constant basis since first coming to prominence in 2022. It was painting that fueled her recovery, after surviving a violent attack. The abrasive, yet delicate, approach towards – and philosophy behind – her art has acted as a catalyst for what has been referred to as “Apocalyptic Impressionism”. Vai’s work has appeared in both solo and group exhibitions and has received a great deal of critical praise, admiration, and respect due to her unapologetic portrayal of beauty uprooted through her own personal trauma and suffering. The music below was played during our music break, take a listen.

86-year-old author Sandra Butler was raised in a conventional 1940s suburb to become a wife and a mother. She spent seven years being unsuccessful at being a proper wife but was delighted with being a mother. A divorce catapulted her and her two young daughters into the turbulent l960s. Immersed in the anti-war and civil rights movements, she found her political and psychological foundation in the second wave of the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s. She began college in her mid-thirties, which led to graduate study, five books, two films, and decades of organizing and community building. Her new release, Leaving Home at 83 chronicles Sandy’s struggles to balance her autonomy and independence with a growing longing to be taken care of, something she disapproves of in herself and has fought against all her life. Nina Simone was played on our music break.

Greta Anderson has been advocating for the plants and animals of the western United States since 1998. A graduate of Prescott College and the University of Arizona, Greta has been working in conservation and trying to limit the adverse effects of public lands livestock grazing since 2004, including advocating for the restoration of predators including wolves across the landscape. She resides on the lands of the Tohono O’odham and Yaqui people in the lands now known as Tucson, Arizona. Running with the Wolves by Aurora was played during our music break.

Karen Fasimpaur lives in a remote part of the Chiricahua Mountains and is a full time community volunteer, working in areas including conservation, immigration, and family advocacy. Dorothea Stevens is an elder from Calva on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. She is an enrolled San Carlos Apache Tribal member and has been a public health nurse in various places including San Carlos for over 49 years. Alycia de Mesa is from the Phoenix area and is of Apache descent from Chihuahua, Mexico. She is a PhD candidate in Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology and an Indigenous Education Specialist for Labriola National American Indian Data Center at Arizona State University. Answers by Sage Bond is a song we picked for the show but did not have time to play it so please take a listen.

Brittany Guerrero is the organization’s first Executive Director. She has more than a decade of non-profit experience and joined Community Gardens of Tucson (CGT) in 2021. She is a Northern Arizona University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in sustainable community development. She has been instrumental in evolving CGT into the thriving, connected, community driven, well-integrated, and inclusive community resource that it is today. With a passion for gardening, Brittany is committed to creating a resilient local foodshed and ensuring that community members have access to healthy food options. Cassandra Wensel- Kanne is a Midwest transplant to Tucson who has been active in sustainable lifestyles here for 30 years. Relocating to the Sonoran Desert was transformational and eye-opening for her understanding the importance of water and land stewardship and her commitment to serving Community Gardens of Tucson as a Board Vice-Chair. A retired teacher and curriculum development manager who is actively a writer, poet, artist, healing arts practitioner and a 500CYT yoga instructor. Cas enjoys the music, art, culture, microbrew community, camping, hiking, regional food enthusiasm, and amazing diversity that Tucson has to offer and is happy to serve the community by sharing the joys of gardening and preserving the environment. We played the following recording on our music break. Green Garden by Laura Mvula

Pamela Yates is an American documentary filmmaker and human rights activist. She Is the Co-founder and Creative Director of Skylight, a non-profit human rights media organization. She has won many prestigious awards for her films. You can find her other films at: https://skylight.is/ Her latest film BORDERLAND/The Line Between (2024) brings the saga of Skylight’s Guatemala trilogy–full circle back to the U.S. BORDERLAND/The Line Between will be presented by the DocScapes Film Series, here in Tucson, at The Loft on Sunday Sept 29th, 2024. DocScapes is a collaborative project of the Hanson Film Institute and the Center for Documentary initiative at the University of Arizona.