Don Luria
In Tucson, Don Luria served on the Board of Directors of the Tucson Festival Society for two years and the Tucson Symphony for 6 years. Luria has been on the Boards of Ballet Arizona, the Tucson Museum of Art (served as Board President) and the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau (Served as Treasurer). He was on the national Board of the Museum Trustee Association, and is Vice President of Slow Food Arizona. Luria is on the Board of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and on the Advisory Committee for the Diamond Children's Medical Center.
Luria was President of Arizona Citizens for the Arts and Chairman of the Advisory Board of UApresents. He is on the Advisory Board of the Arizona State Museum and served as Co-Chair and have served on the Dean's Board of the College of Fine Arts. In 2001, Luria was appointed by Governor Jane Hull to the Arizona Commission on the Arts. He was on the Community Food Bank Board and was Vice President of the Tucson Pima Arts Council.
In 2002 Luria founded the Tucson Culinary Festival and served as its President for 3 years. In January 2009 Luria was re elected Board President. Pima County Supervisor Ann Day appointed him to represent her on the Pima County Public Art Committee. He was the Founding President of Tucson Originals and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Council of Independent Restaurants of America (CIRA) and later served as its President/CEO.
Luria and his wife have been on the Director’s Circle of the Arizona Theatre Company and the Ruby Circle of Arizona Opera. They are charter members of the Museum of the American Indian, contributors to SWAIA and Visionary members of COPIA, the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts which opened in November 2001 in Napa, California.
Luria worked with Tucson Mayor, Robert Walkup as a member of his A Good Business Partnership@ program. This is part of an effort on the Mayor's part to encourage and recognize businesses that offer a positive and promising work environment for their employees.
Luria initiated the Ponies del Pueblo Project run by the Tucson Pima Arts Council that helped raise over $400,000 for multiple non profits. In 2008 he helped start Flower Power, a fundraiser for the Peter & Paula Fasseas Cancer Clinic. It raised over $50,000 the first year and he is serving as a Chair for the 2009 event.
Early Activities
In October 1976, Luria headed the US delegation to the OECD Seminar on Local Government and Information Technology in Paris. He has presented papers at international conferences in Madrid, Spain and Florence, Italy and had a paper presented for him at The Hague.
In 1978, Luria worked on detail to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of the President for President Carter's Reorganization Project, the Federal Statistical System Component. Luria was responsible for defining the issues and making recommendations related to the use and relevance of data to politically appointed decision makers.
Luria served on the Board of Directors of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association for eight (8) years and was elected President. He has been a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the American Institute of Wine and Food.