Tucson Real Estate - The Faces of Tucson honors Kathleen Eriksen with Darren Jones & Tony Ray Baker

Hi, I'm Darren Jones with The Faces of Tucson, and today I am with the President and CEO of Downtown Tucson Partnership, Kathleen Erickson.

Hi, Darren.

Hi. Now, I think that if you talk to most people who work or live in the downtown area and ask them who has been the most impactful in downtown in making this cleaner, safer, more beautiful space, I think they said it was you.

Oh my gosh. Well, we have a large team here, so. It's about 30 people in that one.

That's great, and you built that team, so congratulations.

Thank you very much.

So with that in mind, tell us a little more about yourself.

Okay, I moved here to Tucson from Michigan in about, about 6 years ago, and it was just probably one of the best moves I've made in my life. I have a 26-year-old son who is still in Michigan and just graduated, and he's going to He works at General Motors, actually, so in the innovation department. So super proud of him. And it's just me and my dog Max here in Tucson right now.

So that's fantastic. And I hope we get to meet Max earlier— later. And thank you. I was going to ask you to tell us a little bit about your family. So thank you for that. You're making this very easy. So what do you love the most about what you do? Wow.

I think I love the most that our team can actually affect change. The things that we do affect change in the community, and that is totally gratifying. So we can work on a project from beginning to end and see the fruition and the impact. So that's just really, really gratifying and exciting for me.

That's great. And part of that has led to a couple of awards that happen to be here. Would you mind telling us a little bit about about these and how they came about?

Sure. This is— this award is from the International Downtown Association, and it is the pinnacle award, which is the highest honor possible. We were very honored to receive this. This was for our work with the homeless population. We have a program called DTP Connects, and we were able to connect 85 homeless individuals with homes this was a few years ago, in the course of 2 months. So it was incredible, the impact that had. And it actually transformed what was once a homeless encampment into a vibrant public plaza, which you can still see today the effects of.

Hakimi Plaza, yeah. Yeah, congratulations on those efforts. I know that there's been a lot of support for that program in the past, so well deserved.

Thank you, thank you.

That's great. So you've been in Tucson for a while, and I know I know that you're a big proponent of downtown and downtown businesses and making things better for the restaurants and shopping and the facilities in the downtown area. Can you tell us a little bit about maybe a couple of your favorite restaurants?

Oh, yeah. Well, my all-time favorite restaurant actually was Sanae Thai. And unfortunately, they're not with us anymore because she's, you know, made some other decisions with her life. So bravo to Chef Dee. But currently my favorite restaurants are Café à la Carte. Love Café à la Carte for the ambiance and the food and their wicked bakery case. Oh my God. And then let's see another one. Oh, The Little One right down the street. I love The Little One. You can get just some really unique foods. They have a lot of vegan fare. And then Urban Fresh. Love Urban Fresh. I guess I could go on and on, but those are my top 3, I think.

Yeah. I've always wanted to try the little one. I know— You haven't? No, I know they were the sisters of Susanna who had Café Pocacosa, and we miss her as well. But I've never had an opportunity to be here during lunchtime. Oh, it's wonderful.

I mean, the vibe there is just— it's just like family, right?

And I didn't know they were vegan.

Well, they have a lot of vegan food. I don't think they're totally vegan.

They're not totally vegan. I didn't know they had vegan options, so that's good to know. Oh my gosh.

It's delicious food and it's always different. And, you know, you can just go in and ask the owner to like, you know, pick something for me. And she comes out with just an amazing—

Fantastic. And I'm totally there with you at Café à la Carte and their baked goods. It's like just too good. That chocolate bomb.

Stay away. My favorite is— they always correct me. It's a cinnamon roll in my world, but they call it a cinnamon Danish.

Cinnamon Danish. Oh my gosh. Yeah, it's delicious. I know someone else who is very fond of those.

Oh, Siri's Pasta just opened up too, which is across from Laco on, I think it's Washington Street. It's over in El Presidio district. Yeah. Oh my God, homemade pasta, dangerous, dangerous, dangerous.

The things you learn. I didn't know about that. You didn't know about that? No.

Oh my God.

That's new. Okay, fantastic. So Kathleen, tell me, who do you think is the most—

So we can talk an hour about food.

I know, I know. I have to cut that short. I could be right there with you.

So who do you think is the most interesting person interesting person you've met here in our community? Wow.

Well, I know there's so many.

Present company not included, I would say, um, uh, interesting, I would say Fletcher McCusker. Yeah, he's super interesting, and oh my gosh, if you want to talk about downtown, I'm sure they said his name far many more times than they said my name. What he's done with Río Nuevo and personally for this downtown is, you know, beyond measure.

Yeah, and I'm hoping— he's somebody that's on my radar that I'd like to get an interview with. For anybody who doesn't know about Fletcher, he really started back many years ago, you know, building a business here and investing back in our community. So good person to know. So good choice, good choice. Thank you. So Kathleen, if you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would that be and And why?

I think I would like to travel to Denmark because I am a quarter Danish. Ericsson, S-C-N. Ericsson, yeah.

And have we been before?

No.

Oh, so— No, we have not. Okay. And so basically visiting the old country.

I would love to, yeah.

That sounds great.

Maybe see if I could find some cousins or relations.

Well, I think there are a lot of them, so—

A lot of Ericssons over there.

Yeah. So share with us what What is one of your favorite TV shows or movies right now?

Okay, so I try not to watch a lot of TV, and I try not to watch scary movies or movies about murder or movies about women being abused, but I do tend to gravitate towards those. I try not to because they really affect me, but so right now I would say The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.

Okay.

Love it. And that new one out on Hulu, it's called The Patient, and it's about the psychiatrist who is treating the psychopathic killer.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, and he's holding him hostage. So yeah, that's, that's on my Tuesday, Wednesday night routine.

Yeah. Oh, it reminds me of Kathy Bates movie or something. That's so funny.

So I limit my TV watching because Yeah, I just, I think it's best for me mentally, for my state of mind that I'm not, you know, absorbed in TV too much.

Okay. Well, I think you've brought up a lot of really interesting points so far. But what advice do you think that you would like to share with people today?

Just general? Yeah. That your thoughts create your reality. And that your personality, not to sound hokey, but your personality does determine your personal reality. And that all goes back to your thoughts. And your thoughts drive your emotion, which drive your action. So we have complete— I'm getting goosebumps right now. We have complete control over our lives. And right now I'm kind of having a surreal moment because, you know, we, you and I, you know, Whitney back there, you can't see her. Hi, Whitney! We're all creating our own reality and it all starts with the thoughts. So Tony Ray Baker and Dee and yourself, you had a thought about the show and then look at, you've manifested it and it's just incredible. So thanks for inviting me for it. But I think Managing your thoughts, and it is a full-time job, let me tell you. Every morning I work on my mindset with journaling and meditation. I try to be very self-aware of what I'm thinking, because if I'm feeling a little sideways, it all goes back to here. Because we all, as humans, we have the little stories that we run, and they're lies. They're lies most of the time.

I like to tell people it's like that little voice in the back of your head. Don't necessarily think about— don't necessarily listen to that. Yeah, it's not always your friend. So that's awesome. So, uh, share with me something that is on your bucket list.

Uh, can I have it on my— okay, it's on a bucket list that I haven't achieved yet. Yeah. Okay. I would say to create an outdoor wilderness health resort.

Oh, that's big.

Yeah. Just a little thing.

Thinking, thinking. Let's manifest that together. Yeah, yeah. That's awesome. That's awesome. So, um, what do you think is your go-to band when you can't decide what you want to listen to? That's—

you're stumping me there with that one. Ah. I like all kinds of music. I'm sure you get that answer all the time. But if I'm like wanting to listen to music, again, not to nerd out on you, but I do like to listen to binaural beats. And just kind of like calm down and listen to like beats.

Okay.

Yeah.

I have some suggestions for you later.

Oh, good.

Yeah. Awesome. So what current or former local businesses make you the most nostalgic about our community?

Well, El Charro, right? Yeah. For sure. They just had their 100th anniversary. And then Hotel Congress had their 100th anniversary a year or two ago.

I know. 100 years in business. This seems like a lot here.

Yeah, it is a lot.

Because we've only been a state a little over, what, 6 years or something? For 100 years, we've only been a state a little over 100 years. So for a business to still be here that long, that's quite an achievement.

Yeah, and you know, it's, they're family businesses, which of course for nostalgia reasons, that, you know, just kind of tugs at your heartstrings that. Right. It has been from generation to generation in their blood and so much respect for these business owners.

That continuity through just all kinds of ups and downs. I mean, they were in business, you know, during the Depression, the Dust Bowl. I mean, think about that. You know, you're going, "Wow," you know. So tell me, if you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative, With whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would you meet for this lunch?

I think the author of the book that I'm reading right now, and his name is Dr. Joe Dispenza, and I would take him to the little one, and I'd like to meet with him because He's done a lot of work with the brain and the science of the brain and neuroplasticity and how people can actually change their patterns of behavior, their thoughts, and actually their personality, which goes back to that personality determines personal reality, which is actually a quote of his. Sure. So I find all of that super fascinating. That you can be on this neural pathway where you have this, this belief in life and these actions that go along with it, and that you can actually change it.

Kind of like, if you believe it, you can achieve it. Yeah, that's, that's great. So what is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?

I love the trails, the trail system. I mean, there's so many trails and the cactus and— or cacti, I should say— the wildlife. It's just beautiful. It's just a unique part of the world, isn't it?

It is. It is. I mean, so many trails, so many national parks, so many state parks, and everybody, you know, I've heard people talk about, oh, just the Loop, the Loop, the Loop, but until you actually start looking at the map and seeing what is along the Loop, I don't think you realize how enriched that in itself is, you know, and the number of events that go on there.

So I especially like Tumamoc and A Mountain, and they're right downtown.

They are, they're great.

And you can just get a heck of a workout in, and, you know, 30 minutes to an hour depending on which one you go up. And it's just really enjoyable with all of that wildlife and flora and fauna out there. So it's very nice.

It's beautiful. I mean, great views and the nature and the clean air and the freshness. It's really fantastic. Easy to do. It's accessible for so many people. So Kathleen, where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?

I see myself here in Tucson and doing this type of work at some capacity. And then also I see myself having a dual residency living in Michigan. I own 44 acres there, and that would be the location for this outdoor nature wellness center. So I'd like to do something with glamping and helping people to, you know, live a happier life and a healthier life.

Fantastic. So share something with us that most people, maybe even friends or family, don't know about you.

I, uh, that they don't know about me? Um, well, I, I recently became certified as a whole food plant-based chef. Congratulations. And I got my 200 I took a 200-hour yoga teacher training.

Oh my.

And lost 60 pounds. Now my friends and family know these things, but—

Yeah. And so what does she do in her spare time?

I'm pretty much an open book, so.

That's fantastic. And congratulations on all of this.

Yes, my life completely transformed. It was pretty exciting.

That is great. So now, what do you— what would you say is the most beautiful place you've ever been?

Gosh, that's a tough one. I think the woods in Michigan. Yeah, it's gorgeous. It's funny, you know, I remember when I was 12 years old and growing up there and all I wanted was to get out of here, right? Explore the world and, you know, move away. And here, isn't it funny how things kind of come back around and where you started is really one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Nostalgia. Yeah. Nice. So what would you say is your favorite month, favorite holiday, and best What's the best day of the year?

So, ah, October. I love October, and we're in October right now, or they may be viewing it in November or some other time, I don't know, but October, I love October. I love Halloween, and I love Saturdays. Is that the day of the week you're thinking of? Sure.

Okay. Whatever's good for you.

Yeah, like Saturdays because it's, you know, your day off, and you have another day off following. So you don't have to do anything, right?

That's that. I know Sunday you're like, "Oh, tomorrow I'm starting to think about that." Yeah, go grocery shopping, laundry, clean the house. Okay, name something that you would rate a 10 out of 10.

Our staff here.

Oh? Yes.

You know, our staff is working behind the scenes and they do jobs that other people don't want to do and they're not always recognized for it, but I see I see them out there, and the thing is, is that with all this, not a very desirable job sometimes, or visible job, they still care so much, and that's what I think makes them all 10 out of 10s, is that our staff really cares about downtown, and that's visible as you walk down the street. It's just a vibe. You can feel it. You walk down the street and you're like, wow, somebody cares.

Right.

Don't know who it is, but it's our staff.

It's true. You see them out and all very meticulously doing their tasks and everybody's working together and it just seems like a very cohesive whole. That's great.

Yeah, we have, we have 9 maintenance people, we have 9 security, safety ambassadors, and we have, I think it's 9 maybe, Clean and Green team, and these are people that are experiencing various levels of disabilities and we're able to provide them with employment in transitioning into, you know, a lifestyle where they're earning their own money. And so that's through Desert Survivors. So it's really a nice team.

That's fantastic. So share with us, tell me, who inspires you to be better?

Darren.

No.

My son. Absolutely my son. Always, always. If it weren't for him, I don't know that I'd be alive right now, so. Yeah, he's amazing.

Great mom, great son, great family. There's the key right there. So, Kathleen, share with me, what would you say are one or two of your favorite smells?

I like smelling— mmm, I just want to say pizza, but no, no, because I'm not eating pizza anymore. Okay, so I would say lilacs. Okay.

Mm-hmm.

And I haven't smelled that in a long time.

Lavender. Yeah. Okay, very good, very good. So very herbal essences.

Yeah, I like that.

Fantastic. And so finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word home?

Okay, I'm gonna give you a Danish word.

Okay.

Hygge.

Hygge.

Which means cozy and warm and homey. Mm-hmm. And of course my dog Max. And food, of course food. Oh, here comes Max right now. Maxi! Hi, baby!

Hello! Oh, this is Max. What a wonderful fetish.

Sit down, Max.

Excellent. Sit down. What a beautiful boy.

Wow. Yeah, this is home to me, Max.

Awesome. Thank you so much for being with us today and sharing Max with us. Thank you. It's been a pleasure.

Sure.