Sometimes we wonder what would happen to the New York City culture scene if it weren’t for successful executives like Thomas Uger. When you take a snapshot of arts and culture in the city, it seems like there is a big executive, celebrity, or public figure behind every cause. Not that we’re complaining—quite the contrary, actually. These are the people that make arts and culture flourish and grow.
Thomas Uger is no exception, either. His day job is as the co-head of KKR’s Media and Communications industry team in North America. That’s a big responsibility, but being a Dartmouth College graduate, he’s figured out how to find extra time in his day to promote arts and culture.
WNET is a major media producer in the New York metropolitan area. It’s also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization completely governed by an independent Board of Trustees. Counting Thomas Uger, the Board currently includes 41 voting Trustees and meets regularly throughout the year.
WNET has produced award-winning media for children and adults, its programs covering subjects from arts and culture to science
and natural history to heart-wrenching news and documentaries. It also hosts an annual Celebration of Teaching & Learning, where a professional community of the world’s best thinkers, practitioners and educators come together to share their passion.
Thomas Uger also served as a board member for the Katharsis Theater Company, which produces dramatic interpretations of classic stories. It is currently on artistic hiatus, but in the past the small organization has prided itself on sharing stories with universal truths and experiences that have withstood the test of time.
Another way in which Thomas Uger has encouraged local culture is through his generous donation to the Dutchess Land Conservancy. He donated a private property easement for 125 acres of land in Dutchess County, New York. The easement gives the DLC property rights to his land, which helps them in their mission to conserve wildlife habitats, forests, water, and open space and prevent land from being developed for commercial purposes.