June 17 & 18
June 17
Merced County Office of Education, Mondo Building
From Skills to Scene: Culinary Training as a Catalyst for Food Culture
9:30am – 10:30am
Placemaking Focus: Workforce development, culinary education, entrepreneurship, talent pipelines, food ecosystems, economic mobility
Daryl Shular
Founder & CEO, D. Shular Hospitality Group
Certified Master Chef Daryl Shular is a nationally recognized chef, educator, and hospitality leader. In 2014, he became the first African American to earn the prestigious Certified Master Chef designation, one of the culinary industry’s highest honors. Founder of the Shular Institute, the first Black-owned state-licensed culinary school in North America, Shular is a leading advocate for culinary education, workforce development, and expanding opportunity through food and hospitality.
Explore how culinary training and workforce development can strengthen local food ecosystems, support entrepreneurs, expand access to livable-wage careers, and elevate a community’s identity through food. Participants will examine how investing in talent, hospitality, and culinary education helps build stronger dining cultures, vibrant destinations, and more connected communities.
Marshal Shafkowitz
Executive Director, Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food
Marshal Shafkowitz is a culinary educator and hospitality leader with more than 40 years of experience across culinary education, restaurant operations, and workforce development in the U.S. and Europe. As Executive Director of Brightwater at Northwest Arkansas Community College, he leads programs focused on connecting students to careers in food and hospitality while advancing industry partnerships, innovation, and culinary excellence.
11am – 12 Noon
Edible Infrastructure: Food, Markets & Agriculture
Placemaking Focus: Food systems, public markets, culinary districts, local agriculture, small business growth, community gathering spaces
Discover how food systems function as essential community infrastructure, shaping economic development, cultural identity, and public life. Participants will examine how markets, food halls, culinary districts, and local food enterprises can activate public spaces, support small businesses, and create vibrant community gathering places.
Anthony Mirisciotta
CEO, Freshlist
Anthony Mirisciotta is a nationally recognized food systems leader whose work connects farms, markets, restaurants, and communities to strengthen local economies and regional food infrastructure. With nearly two decades of experience across agriculture, policy, and hospitality, he helps communities use food systems and culinary culture to drive economic vitality, identity, and community connection.
Nina Curtis
Director & Executive Chef, Adventist Health, Vitaliz Café and Culinary Arts
Chef Nina Curtis is an award-winning culinary leader and food systems advocate known for connecting food, culture, health, and community through plant-based cuisine and community-driven culinary experiences. Recognized as one of the Top 25 Women in Foodservice and Hospitality and honored as America’s Top Hospital Chef, her work explores how food systems, wellness, and hospitality can help shape healthier, more connected, and resilient communities.
1pm – 2pm
The Welcome Economy: Hospitality as Place Strategy
Placemaking Focus: Tourism, hospitality, district activation, visitor experience, destination development, local identity
Dive into how hospitality shapes community identity, visitor experience, and economic vitality. Participants will examine how hotels, restaurants, food culture, and experience-driven programming can activate districts, strengthen local identity, and build a welcoming economy that benefits both residents and visitors.
Juan Solano
General Manager, Hotel Saint Vincent
Juan Solano is a hospitality executive with more than 15 years of experience shaping lifestyle hotels, private clubs, and food and beverage concepts across the U.S. and internationally. Known for his work in emerging markets and the “welcome economy,” he focuses on how hospitality, food systems, and experience design can help create vibrant, community-centered destinations.
Maryam Ahmed
Founder, Maryam + Company
Maryam Ahmed is a Napa-based food and wine entrepreneur known for creating impact-driven programs that connect chefs, sommeliers, sustainability leaders, and media. Founder of Field Blends and co-founder of the Diversity in Wine Leadership Forum, her work explores how food, wine, storytelling, and cultural experiences can strengthen community identity and destination appeal.
Chef-Led Storytelling: Building a City’s Food Identity from the Kitchen Out
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Placemaking Focus: Cultural identity, storytelling, culinary branding, destination marketing, local food culture, community identity
Explore how chefs shape community identity through flavor, heritage, innovation, and hospitality. Participants will examine how culinary leaders help define a city’s food story and how communities can strategically partner with chefs, restaurants, and local food producers to strengthen culture, tourism, and destination identity.
Rafael Rios
Founder, Yeyo’s El Alma de Mexico
Chef Rafael Rios is known for his ingredient-driven approach to regional Mexican cuisine, blending family tradition, global culinary influence, and local agriculture. Through Yeyo’s El Alma de Mexico and Rios Family Farm, his work highlights sustainability, seasonal cooking, and authentic storytelling through food. Yeyo’s was named one of The New York Times’ 50 Best Restaurants in America, and Rios is a multi-time James Beard Award semifinalist and 2025 nominee for Best Chef: South.
Matthew Cooper
Founder, Conifer & Ryn
Chef Matthew Cooper’s work centers on the belief that food can strengthen connection and community. Through partnerships with local growers, artisans, and producers, he has built restaurant concepts rooted in sustainability, hospitality, and sense of place. His restaurants, Conifer and Ryn, have earned multiple James Beard recognitions for their ingredient-driven approach and commitment to community-centered dining experiences.
Colin Sato
Co-Founder & Co-Owner, et al.
Chef Colin Sato is a Tulsa-based chef and co-founder of et al., an award-winning chef collective recognized for its collaborative and community-focused approach to dining. His work explores the intersection of culture, terroir, and storytelling through food while advancing more equitable, creative, and people-centered hospitality models.
June 18
UC Merced on Main
What’s on Our Plate? The Future of Food
5:30pm – 7pm
Placemaking Focus: Food systems, hospitality, tourism, entrepreneurship, destination development, local sourcing, regional identity, economic development
This dynamic conversation brings together leaders from across food, hospitality, agriculture, and tourism to discuss emerging trends, shifting consumer expectations, culinary entrepreneurship, and the future of the Welcome Economy. Through panel discussions, table conversations, and audience Q&A, participants will examine how food and hospitality can help shape a stronger, more connected identity for Merced and the North San Joaquin Valley while identifying opportunities for future collaboration, investment, and regional growth.
Panelists: Master Chef Daryl Shular, Marshal Shafkowitz, Chef Nina Curtis, Anthony Mirisciotta, Juan Solano, Maryam Ahmed, Chef Matthew Cooper, Chef Colin Sato & Chef Rafael Rios