Keep America Beautiful Staff Spotlight:
Kurt Uhlendorf
Meet Kurt Uhlendorf, Regional Director of the West at Keep America Beautiful. As one of the newest members of the team, Kurt brings fresh energy and a deep commitment to the mission of building cleaner, greener, more beautiful communities. As part of the KAB Staff Spotlight series, we’re taking a moment to get to know him a little better—through his own words.
Dive into our Q&A session below to discover more about Kurt’s journey with Keep America Beautiful.
Q: Where are you located?
A: Tuscon, Arizona
Q: What do you do for Keep America Beautiful?
A: I serve as the Western Regional Director at Keep America Beautiful, where I support and strengthen our network of local affiliates working to build cleaner, greener, and more connected communities.
Q: What does beauty mean to you?
A: I’ve found beauty in unexpected places. In Brooklyn, NY, where I lived for 12 years, local parks offered a calm respite from the city’s chaos. I’ve also found it in the Sabino National Forest near Tucson, AZ, where I currently live. To me, beauty is feeling inspired by your surroundings.
Q: What’s the most rewarding/inspiring project you’ve worked on or have been a part of?
A: I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, and one of my favorite projects was mobilizing the community to build latrines for 40 families. It was a massive undertaking, entirely driven by the community. I helped secure a grant for materials, but the labor was all performed by local residents. When a family didn’t have the tools or skills needed, others stepped in to help. It was incredibly gratifying to support a community-led project with lasting impact.
Q: When you’re not doing beautiful things, what are you doing?
A: I spend almost all of my free time outdoors, whether that’s hiking in and around Tucson, rock climbing, or cycling. In August, I’ll begin training for El Tour de Tucson, a 100-mile bike race that draws over 10,000 cyclists from across the country.
Q: What’s the strangest piece of litter you’ve ever collected?
A: I participate in a yearly cleanup of the Rillito River in Tucson. Most of the year it’s a dry riverbed, but during monsoon season it becomes a raging river. During these cleanups, I’ve collected shopping carts, mattresses, and even a motorcycle.
Q: If you were a tree – what would you be and why?
A: If I were a tree, I’d be a Bristlecone Pine. They are some of the oldest living organisms on the planet, with some over 4,800 years old. They thrive at high altitudes, are incredibly resilient, and just keep on living.
Q: What three words describe how you feel about your work?
A: Energized, purposeful, hopeful.
About Keep America Beautiful®:
Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful strives to end littering, improve recycling, and beautify America’s communities. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
McCall Vrydaghs
Keep America Beautiful®