Carolyn Sugiyama Classen, a life long Democrat, was born & raised in the State of Hawaii, was a Legislative Aide for U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye on Capitol Hill, and practiced law for a while. In Tucson she worked as a tribal staff attorney for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and later was the Interim Executive Director of the now defunct Domestic Violence Commission. In 2008 she became a “My Tucson” guest columnist for the Tucson Citizen newspaper, then continued blogging for Tucsoncitizen.com for over four and a half years. Her blogsite was entitled “Carolyn’s Community” about community events and some political news, until Gannett Publishing shut down the site on January 31, 2014. She started with Blog for Arizona on Feb. 11, 2014.
Part time she sat as a Hearing Officer in Pima County Consolidated Justice Courts Small Claims Division since April, 2005 for 15 years. She is married to University of Arizona Distinguished Professor Albrecht Classen, a native of Germany. They have one son, who lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and daughter.
She is also the Editor of the Southern Arizona Japanese Cultural Coalition website, www.southernazjapan.org (since Jan. 2013).
George Mumford in Tucson: Community & UA Presentations on Wednesday, April 8, 2015
George Mumford
Free & Open to the Public.
Both Mayor Jonathan Rothschild
and Ward 1 Council Member
Regina Romero will be at the
El Pueblo Neighborhood Center
talk and will say a few
introductory words.
* Mr. Mumford will be speaking at El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, 101 W. Irvington Rd., at 3 p.m. on “Learning to Play, Playing to Learn” and at UA’s Gallagher Theatre, in the student union at 1303 E. University Blvd., at 7 p.m. on “Pursuing Excellence with Grace and Ease.”
The University of Arizona’s Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry is bringing George Mumford – sports psychologist and meditation teacher/coach renowned for enhancing individual and team performance though mindfulness meditation – to deliver several public lectures on April 8, 2015.
As an athletic trainer, mentor for at-risk youth and motivational speaker, Mumford urges his diverse clients and audiences to practice meditation as a means of developing concentration, mindfulness, focus and mental toughness.
With extensive experience coaching Olympic athletes and collegiate teams, Mumford is best known for working with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers during their championship seasons in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As part of Head Coach Phil Jackson’s support staff, Mumford helped to lead the Bulls and Lakers to a total of 11 NBA championships, specifically by helping star players such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant refine their concentration through insight meditation training, or as Michael Jordan famously said, “get in the zone.”
Mumford’s proven techniques transform the performance of anyone with a goal – be they an athlete, student, academic, executive, musician, hacker or artist. Mumford will share his story and strategies in his Tucson talks, topics that are being covered in his forthcoming book The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance, being released by Parallax Press on May 12, 2015.
By hosting George Mumford, Confluencenter continues its mission to sponsor engaging and free programming that examines humanity’s grand challenges.
“The eclectic nature of Mumford’s talk, which includes elements of cognitive science, sports medicine and Eastern philosophy, represents the innovative and interdisciplinary work in which Confluencenter invests,” said Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry Director Dr. Javier Duran. “We are excited to bring Mr. Mumford to Tucson to speak to both the UA and broader Tucson communities.”
Mumford’s community presentation at El Pueblo Community Center is possible through in-kind support from Ward I Councilor Regina Romero’s office. Mayor Jonathan Rothschild is also offering his support by being a part of the El Pueblo Community Center talk.
Last year Arizona Gives Day raised $1,392,292 for non-profits all over the state of Arizona. ARIZONA GIVES DAY – APRIL 7, 2015 Arizona Gives Day is a powerful 24 hour online giving experience that unites Arizonans around causes they believe in. Hosted by the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and the Arizona Grantmakers Forum, Arizona Gives … Read more
Carolyn’s note: Although I am not of Chinese ethnicity, I am a member of the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center since I am a passionate (and fairly good and somewhat lucky) mah jong player. Check out this healthy festival tomorrow on UA Mall, for free.
STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 3 at the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Tucson In this darkly comedic odyssey, Academy Award-nominee Rinko Kikuchi (Babel, Pacific Rim) stars as Kumiko, a frustrated Office Lady whose imagination transcends the confines of her mundane life. Kumiko becomes obsessed with a mysterious, battered VHS tape of The Coen Brothers’ 1996 … Read more