22nd Annual Event
Karin Uhlich is a longtime nonprofit leader and public servant whose decades of advocacy have advanced LGBTQ+ rights and promoted equity and justice across housing, health, and the local economy. She moved to Tucson in 1993 to serve as CEO of the Primavera Foundation, an organization that works to create pathways out of poverty through workforce development and affordable housing initiatives. She founded the Southwest Center for Economic Integrity in 2002, an organization that opposes unfair corporate and government practices and works towards addressing the economic divide in Southern Arizona. She has also served people enrolled in Medicaid through a Senior Director role at Arizona Complete Health.
Outside of these roles, Uhlich served on the Tucson City Council for more than a decade, representing Ward 3 from 2005-2017 and serving as Vice Mayor for two years. Uhlich was recognized by her colleagues for her effective leadership during the Great Recession, helping to stretch federal funding across the city’s housing programs in the face of broader cuts. She was also recognized by state authorities for her work in preventing home meth labs through an ordinance that restricted over-the-counter sales of Sudafed. Because of her effective leadership, she was voted unanimously to fill a Ward 6 seat vacancy, representing Ward 6 on the Tucson City Council until Miranda Schubert assumed the seat.
LGBTQ+ justice has been a defining throughline of Uhlich’s public service. She helped launch the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund in partnership with the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in 1999, serving as the Board Chair from 2019 to 2021, awarding $1,312,957 to 80 organizations across Southern Arizona promoting LGBTQ+ programs and initiatives since its founding. On the Tucson City Council, Karin Uhlich led the passage of the city’s civil unions ordinance, granting same-sex couples formal legal recognition and protections at a time when Arizona law offered none. The measure provided critical legal clarity in areas such as medical decision-making and contractual rights, affirming dignity and safety for LGBTQ+ families across Tucson. Continuing on this work, Uhlich and Ward 1 Councilmember Lane Santa Cruz led an initiative to revise gendered language in Tucson’s City Charter and other codes and laws to promote inclusivity. She also helped pass a resolution reaffirming Transgender rights in 2025 by pledging that Tucson remain a welcoming home that opposes violence and discrimination against the Transgender community. Ward 1 council member Lane Santa Cruz credited Uhlich for paving a pathway for LGBTQ+ leaders to shape the future, serving as the first openly queer person on the Tucson City Council.
Uhlich is a champion for the people of Tucson whose career reflects a sustained commitment to her constituents and community. She helped pave the way for representation in government in Southern Arizona, and has expanded economic opportunity and equity across her many roles in serving her community.