Keep Texas Beautiful is heading to the Gulf Coast for an upcoming regional training. These gatherings are a chance to connect with KTB staff, fellow affiliates, and community leaders working to keep Texas clean and beautiful.

Kemah Regional Training
November 17, 2026

More details are coming soon. Mark your calendars and get ready to connect, learn, and bring fresh ideas back to your community!

Will Masters leads students through restoration work in the Texas Panhandle, showing how healthier creeks, stronger water systems, and hands-on education can help communities better understand and care for the land around them.

Restoring Water Systems in the Panhandle

New Weathering Texas Feature

In our latest Weathering Texas post, Jazmin Storrs shares her interview with Will Masters, an Amarillo lawyer and co-founder of Ogallala Life. They explore how drought, blowing sand, and water scarcity are shaping life in the Texas Panhandle — and how local restoration work is helping communities reconnect with the land beneath their feet.

Through work with Ogallala Life and Wildcat Bluff Nature Center, Masters is helping restore creeks, improve stormwater absorption, and create public spaces where Texans can see restoration in action.

Read the full Weathering Texas story to learn how restoration, education, and community awareness are helping Texans respond to environmental change in the Panhandle.

Fun facts: Natalia enjoys horseback riding, traveling, theater, Texas football and basketball, and grew up swimming and dancing. Hook ’em!

Meet Natalia

Natalia is an incoming junior at The University of Texas at Austin studying Finance in the McCombs School of Business. She plans to pursue a master’s in Accounting before eventually attending law school.

Service and community involvement have long been part of her life, from Adopt-A-Highway litter pickups with her dad to local beautification projects and growing up in a household where recycling was a priority.

This summer, she is especially looking forward to connecting with students and hearing their stories through the Young Texan Ambassadors program and help young Texans discover opportunities to make a difference in their communities.

Fun facts: Marina is an avid reader and writer. She once read five books in one week. She also loves running, hiking, swimming, and being outdoors.

Meet Marina

Marina Nance is a rising senior at The University of Texas at Austin pursuing a B.S. in Public Relations. Over the past year, she found a strong connection to sustainability and environmental stewardship, building on a lifelong love for the natural world.

As a lifelong Texan, Marina was drawn to KTB’s mission to inspire and empower Texans to make their communities clean and beautiful. She is excited to learn how nonprofit communications work, explore sustainability-focused public relations, and support projects that positively impact communities across Texas.

The Keep Texas Beautiful team recently gathered at The University of Texas at Austin for a staff training day centered on leadership, collaboration, and the work we do together across Texas. Thank you to Texas LEAD for facilitating the session and creating space for reflection, connection, and growth.

During one activity, each staff member was asked to draw what leadership looks like. The final icons told a story of their own: a tree for change and growth, a group of people to remind us that everyone can lead, nature for coming together to beautify, a ripple for the impact leaders create, and a network for the relationships that help move this work forward.

It was a powerful reminder that leadership takes many forms — and that every role helps strengthen our mission to keep Texas clean and beautiful.

How the Texas Litter Database Supports Conservation Action