Our journey through the dining halls of history
Our mission at Common Threads Live is informed by the periods of history depicted in Trento’s forthcoming book, Food and Art. Our journey expands beyond European culture to explore the interplay of culinary legacy, artistic expression and fashionable attire that spans the spectrum of human existence.
“History is not just a set of facts and events.
It is the study of how and why societies change.
Why do people act in certain ways?
Are there patterns in human behavior?”
As stated by Heather Cox Richardson, July 27. 2026 Substack Food and Art
Robin Trento, author of the forthcoming book, Food and Art, is a lifelong food enthusiast, art lover and history buff, Robin Trento specializes in exploring the intersections between art and culinary history. Her decades of involvement with the Education Department of the J Paul Getty Museum have provided the platform for fine-tuning these interests and creating numerous culinary courses based on art exhibitions. As an expert in museum education, Robin brings stories to life with an exquisite appreciation of art, literature, and history. She earned her BA in Italian and Art History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, after having studied at UCLA and University of Padua, Italy. She is presently Associate Director and Founding Member of Art Muse Los Angeles, a community of art historians, artists, and educators who offer private art tours throughout the Los Angeles area.
Executive Director
Amanda R. Armour is a strategic founding-team operator with a 20-year career spanning the public sector, founding-team corporate leadership (employee #5 to ~300 at Versus Systems / Nasdaq: VS through IPO, four acquisitions, and global scaling), and Board governance. Earlier public-sector chapters include leading Affordable Care Act implementation across the San Fernando Valley for Valley Presbyterian Hospital, managing an NSF and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation–funded longitudinal study at Northwestern on women living with HIV/AIDS, and leading a William T. Grant Foundation–funded field operation at UCLA's Consortium for Police Leadership in Equity. She trained as a research scientist in a PhD program in Social Psychology at Yale University. She currently serves as Chair of the Board at Thrive Scholars, a national scholarship and mentorship organization for underrepresented students, and on the Boards of the Public Library of Science and the Digital Diversity Network. She brings the founding-team operating discipline, research training, and mission-driven leadership the platform requires.
Executive Producer
Kathryn Linehan is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, producer, and cultural strategist with more than twenty years of experience at the intersection of film, community, and social change. Her documentary Children of Afghanistan screened at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and was named one of the festival's most compelling stories by the LA Times; her feature documentary Remand: Global Justice in Uganda, narrated by Angela Bassett, brought international attention to systemic injustice and aired on PBS. Her film credits include Voices in Wartime and PBS’ In Search of Angels. She served as Manager of Pepperdine University's Institute for Entertainment, Media, and Culture, where she led programming about creativity and social impact. As faculty in the Natural Science division for more than a decade, Kathryn contributed to extensive research in the field of movement, cognition and longevity. She holds a Master of Arts in Cinematic Media Production from Pepperdine University and a degree in Communication Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has built strategic partnerships across the entertainment and nonprofit communities throughout her career — including as a board advisor for the Creative Projects Group. She brings the documentary storytelling expertise, creative vision, and cultural production experience the platform requires.
CONTACT
Kathryn Linehan
katlinehan@proton.me