Skip to main content
See More
events
Husky connections

FOOD: Four Short Talks

Thurs. Feb. 23, 2017      6:30 p.m.

Kakao/415 Westlake

Sharing. Creating. Culture. Community.

Food is more than nourishment. It’s a way to make connections and a reflection of our community. How we approach food has implications for the public good — raising wide-ranging questions about cultural and civic identity, social justice and government.

Explore this topic with us at Kakao/415 Westlake at 415 Westlake Ave. N, Seattle. Mix, mingle and hear perspectives — from the worlds of cooking, eating, business and urban design — about how food builds community.

Branden Born, UW professor of urban design and planning
Laurie and Leslie Coaston, ’85, restaurateurs
Anita Verna Crofts, ’02, UW senior lecturer and author of “Meet Me at the Bamboo Table”
My Tam Nguyen, ’06, tastemaker and public servant

Social entrepreneur Veena Prasad will moderate the conversation and a reception will follow. Admission includes one drink ticket.

Admission: $5 (members), $10 (non-members)


Veena PrasadVeena Prasad, ’09
A first generation immigrant, Veena Prasad is originally from Bangalore, India and moved to the United States as a teenager. Veena’s professional career has zigzagged through the corporate world at Procter & Gamble and as a solo food entrepreneur with Veena’s Market before she embarked on her journey as a social entrepreneur with Project Feast. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and a Masters in Business Administration from the UW’s Foster School of Business.

Branden BornBranden Born
Branden Born is an associate professor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the UW. Through his research, Branden examines food systems as they relate to democracy or participation in social life. He is the faculty co-director of the Livable City Year program at the UW and a member of the Regional Food Policy Council of the Puget Sound Regional Council. He also serves on the board of FEEST Seattle.

Laurie and Leslie Coaston

Laurie Coaston, ’85, and Leslie Coaston ’85
Twin sisters Laurie and Leslie Coaston grew up in Seattle and attended the UW on athletic scholarships. After working in other fields, they fulfilled their dreams and opened The Kingfish Café on Capitol Hill in 1997. For nearly 20 years, they served soul food and shared family recipes and stories with a devoted clientele before closing what had by then become a Seattle institution, in January 2015.

Anita Verna Crofts

Anita Verna Crofts, ’02
Anita Verna Crofts, a senior lecturer at the UW, serves as the Associate Director of Academic Affairs for the Communication Leadership graduate program. Anita is interested in the creative ways digital media and food build, sustain and grow communities — in concert and on their own. Her writings on food have been published widely, and her debut book, “Meet Me at The Bamboo Table: Everyday Meals Everywhere,” was published in 2016.

My Tam Nguyen

My Tam Nguyen, ’06
A UW and Harvard University graduate, My Tam Nguyen has been involved in city and state politics for many years and cares about sustainable development, civil rights and social action, and good governance. She also has a dynamic social media presence, where she shares her passion for food and cooking, and her Vietnamese-American heritage.

Admission: $5 (members), $10 (non-members)