From the Marfa Highlands to the New York City High Line

Judd Foundation presents a conversation with Rainer Judd, President of Judd Foundation; Robert Hammond, Co-Founder and Executive Director (1999-2022) of the High Line; Jim Fissel, design consultant; and Jim Martinez, soil scientist and landscape designer. They will discuss the Marfa Garden publications, which Fissel and Martinez co-authored, as a window into the role of native plant restoration, conservation, and education as a critical component to rebalancing our relationship with ecosystems such as the Chihuahuan Desert and that of New York City.

Marfa Garden – The Wonders of Dry Desert Plants published in 2018 (hardback) and Marfa Garden – A Field Guide to Plants of the Chihuahuan Desert published in the fall of 2024 (paperback), are two native plant books designed and created by Martinez and Fissel, along with their friends Martha Hughes and Mary Lou Saxon, and published by Trinity University Press.

Presented in partnership with the Strand Bookstore.

This event is free and open to the public though advance registration is encouraged. Please note priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, though advance registration does not guarantee admission once the event reaches capacity.

Register in advance.

Jim Fissel has been a user interface design consultant for forty years. He specialized in visual interfaces for medical devices. He also created numerous designs in the semiconductor, industrial, educational, and financial fields. He currently applies his skills in support of a variety of environmental projects including interpretive signage, educational materials, and plant database mappings for the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute.

Robert Hammond is the President and Chief Strategy Officer for Therme Group US, where he spearheads initiatives to introduce large-scale bathing facilities across the United States. Before joining Therme Group US, he co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the High Line for over two decades. In collaboration with Joshua David, he led the transformation of an abandoned elevated railway line in Manhattan into an iconic urban park, now celebrated worldwide. He also created the High Line Network to foster community and share best practices among leaders of other infrastructure renewal projects. He has won over two dozen national and international awards for his work, and he currently serves on the boards for Little Island, Sauna Aid, Grounded Solutions Network, and the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Rainer Judd is President of Judd Foundation and the daughter of Donald Judd. She oversees land stewardship initiatives for the Foundation, including the 34,000-acre conservation easement in the Chinati Mountains. She co-directed the film Marfa Voices (2007), a documentary which portrays an intimate view of Judd and Marfa. She is co-editor of Donald Judd Spaces (2020) and editor of Donald Judd Furniture (2024). She is active in community efforts to protect the diversity of the Chihuahuan Desert and supports marine stewardship as a board member of the Safina Center in New York.

Jim Martinez has been creating waterwise and environmentally friendly landscapes for more than forty-five years and specializes in native plants of Texas and the Southwest. He has designed and installed gardens throughout the United States and Mexico, and his landscape designs have been recognized by Garden Design, Pure Green Living, Wildflower (the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center magazine), and the Dallas Morning News, among other publications. He has a bachelor’s degree in soil science from New Mexico State University and is currently working on Chihuahuan Desert grassland restoration projects. He serves as Board President of the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute.