News & Events

Udall Foundation Opens New Headquarters Office in Tucson, Arizona

Posted: 4/18/2023

Catalina Room

The Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall Foundation) is pleased to announce the opening of its new headquarters at the Trinity Office, 434 E. University Boulevard, in Tucson, Arizona.

Since December 2002, the Udall Foundation’s headquarters had been located at 130 S. Scott Avenue in downtown Tucson. The expiration of that lease in December 2022 provided the agency with an opportunity to reassess its space requirements based on current mission delivery, employee well-being, and the organization’s post-COVID-19 Tucson workforce profile. Today, approximately 50% of the Udall Foundation’s employees are based remotely around the country; this geographic diversification has led to enhancements in recruitment and retention for key program positions and increased overall employee job satisfaction. With the support of its Board of Trustees, the White House Office of Management and Budget, and its Congressional appropriators, the agency began its search in late 2021 for a smaller, more modern headquarters footprint to be the centerpiece of the Udall Foundation’s mission for the next generation.

Early on in the search for a new headquarters location, the Udall Foundation knew it wanted to be closer to The University of Arizona (UArizona). In addition to proximity to its UArizona program partners and UArizona leadership, additional key office requirements for the agency included improved physical accessibility for employees and visitors; modern office design elements (e.g., LEED certification); access to public transit; and enhanced ability to deliver its mission through, among other things, on-site programming, training, Board of Trustees activities, and stakeholder and alumni events. After assessing several options, the agency decided on the Trinity Office, which is within walking distance of both the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at UArizona and the UArizona President's Office.

“The University of Arizona’s mission is enriched by its strong partnership with the Udall Foundation, and together, we have had an incredible impact in building a sustainable global future,” said President and Udall Foundation Trustee Dr. Robert Robbins. “With the proximity of the Udall Foundation’s new headquarters to our main campus, there will be more opportunities to foster that partnership.”

Dr. Stephanie Russo Carroll, Acting Director of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, said, “The Udall Center and Udall Foundation have a decades-long partnership delivering programs that extend the Udall family legacy related to environmental policy and governance, through the Native Nations Institute, and by co-managing the prestigious Native American Congressional Internship program. We’re thrilled to see the Udall Foundation move to this new headquarters just blocks away from the Udall Center and expect that being so much closer to one another will make it easier to collaborate on programs, training, and events so that both of our organizations and the programming we support can reach their maximum potential."

Front of building

As a new building, the Trinity Office provided the opportunity for the Udall Foundation to build office space to its current and anticipated requirements. The agency entered into a partnership with Bourn Companies and Rob Paulus Architects to design and build its headquarters of the future and moved into its new office in February 2023 after an approximately one-year buildout, the cost of which was shared with Bourn Properties. The agency has reduced its physical footprint by approximately 25%, and the new space has modernized data and audiovisual equipment, meeting rooms, and employee offices to maximize hybrid mission delivery. The office also features new ergonomic furniture, common area spaces designed to promote organizational community, and the University Blvd.-3rd Ave. Sun Link Streetcar stop out front. Critically, the move of the headquarters office and the cost-sharing of the office buildout demonstrates the Udall Foundation’s commitment to responsible stewardship of the taxpayer funding it receives; the agency expects to realize significant cost savings in rent and maintenance year-over-year.

“Our headquarters office embodies the agency values that guide our work,” said Dr. David Brown, Executive Director. “Our mission to provide nonpartisan public service as an independent Federal agency, grounded in the principles of civility, integrity, and consensus, will be enhanced by this new space, both for our own employees and for the many partners and stakeholders we serve. Whether it is training and assisting public officials in the application of environmental conflict resolution principles or promoting the next generation of leaders in environmental and Tribal public policy and Native health care, the Udall Foundation is well-positioned to continue its work from our new Tucson headquarters while being a responsible steward of taxpayer resources.”

More Information
For more information regarding the Udall Foundation’s work, please visit its website. For more information regarding the Udall Foundation’s headquarters move, please contact David Brown at brown@udall.gov.

About the Udall Foundation
The Morris K. Udall Foundation was established by the U.S. Congress in 1992 as an independent executive branch agency to honor Morris K. Udall's lasting impact on this Nation’s environment, public lands, and natural resources, and his support of the rights and self-governance of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. In 2009, Congress enacted legislation to also honor Stewart L. Udall for his half century of distinguished national leadership in environmental and Native American policy. The agency is known today as the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall Foundation) and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona.

The Udall Foundation is authorized by Congress to:

Award Scholarships, Fellowships, and Internships for study in fields related to the environment and to Native Americans and Alaska Natives in fields related to health care and Tribal public policy.
Connect youth to the Nation’s public lands and natural resources to foster greater understanding, appreciation, stewardship, and enjoyment of those lands and resources through photography, positive outdoor experiences, and environmental education through the Stewart L. Udall Parks in Focus® Program.
Provide funding to the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy to conduct policy research and outreach on the environment and related themes.
Provide funding to the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy, a program of the Udall Center, for research, education, and outreach on Native American and Alaska Native health care issues and Tribal public policy issues.
Provide funding through the Udall Center to The University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections to serve as the repository for the papers of Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall and other such public papers as may be appropriate and assure such papers' availability to the public.
Provide impartial collaboration, consensus-building, training, and conflict resolution services on a wide range of environmental, natural and cultural resources, Tribal, and public lands issues, conflicts, and disputes involving the Federal Government through the John S. McCain III National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution.

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