Turner Wyatt

About

Keep climbing.

I am an award-winning social entrepreneur, filmmaker, and writer working on a circular economy, sustainable businesses, and effective nonprofits from Durango, Colorado.

Since 2011 my focus has been starting and scaling organizations that can help advance my personal mission of creating a more just and sustainable world.

Press and awards

Awards

2026 Best New Colorado Poetry Book (Begin Where You Are), Best of Denver 2026 Westword 2025 Moving Line, winner at the Durango Independent Film Festival Durango Independent Film Festival 2023 Walking Softer Young Leaders Award Walking Softer 2020 Fink Fellow, Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation 2020 Top 20 Emerging Leaders in Food and Agriculture Emerging Leaders in Food and Agriculture 2020 Waste360 40 Under 40 Waste360 2019 Outstanding Alumni, CU Boulder Campus Sustainability Awards University of Colorado Boulder Environmental Center

Press

2026 'Begin Where You Are' honors late Andrea Gibson, features work from a century of Colorado's poet laureates KGNU 2026 Begin Where You Are anthology feature The Colorado Poet 2026 Our view: Poetry The Durango Herald 2025 Colorado poets laureate anthology celebrates local writers, supports future poets Chaffee County Times 2025 New Collection of Work Celebrates Poets Laureate of Colorado, Features Unpublished Work by Andrea Gibson Colorado Governor's Office 2025 A Conversation with Turner Wyatt Colorado Review 2025 Turner Wyatt on Begin Where You Are, the First Anthology of Colorado's Poets Laureate KSJD 2025 A new anthology compiles 100 years of work from Colorado's poet laureates KSUT Public Radio 2025 Colorado's First Poets Laureate Anthology Features Previously Unpublished Work by Andrea Gibson Westword 2025 Colorado Poets Laureate Gather for Release of Begin Where You Are Westword 2023 Durango Poet Laureate Program to launch this fall The Durango Herald 2023 Mural commemorates Durango's brewing industry The Durango Herald 2022 Turner Wyatt With Upcycled Food Association Business RadioX 2022 Upcycled Certification steams ahead in first year since launch Food Business News 2022 Upcycled Food Association CEO: 'We want an upcycled product in every aisle of every grocery store' FoodNavigator-USA 2022 Upcycled Food Association CEO Envisions Massive Industry Growth The Food Institute 2021 EP 38: The #1 Climate Change Solution, with Turner Wyatt Brands for a Better World 2020 How 'Upcycled' Ingredients Can Help Reduce The $940 Billion Global Food Waste Problem Forbes 2020 Upcycled Food (Eating Matters, Episode 167) Heritage Radio Network 2020 The Upcycled Food Association is making environmentalism profitable New Hope Network 2020 Upcycled Food Association CEO Turner Wyatt on solving food waste PeasOnMoss 2020 The Power of the Consumer, with Turner Wyatt Too Good To Waste podcast 2020 Is Upcycled Food the Answer? Waste360 2019 Denver brothers look to resell used Japanese vehicles amidst #vanlife boom BusinessDen 2019 Denver Food Rescue's new executive director once sought help from the nonprofit Denverite 2019 Meet Turner Wyatt VoyageDenver 2016 Food Rescue Ride Connects Denver Communities With Free, Fresh Produce Westword

Substack

The Social Entrepreneur

I publish my writing on Substack: personal stories from starting social enterprises, and ideas for new ones. Each piece lives there, on a separate site from this one.

Subscribe on Substack turnerwyatt.substack.com

Writing

Sep 2026 Why I Call Myself a Social Entrepreneur read on Substack Sep 2026 Love Letter to the Desert read on Substack Aug 2026 Philanthropy Should Be A Global Competition to Solve Problems read on Substack Essay Small Business is Social Enterprise read on Substack

Social Enterprise Ideas

Artist Fiscal Sponsor Artist Fiscal Sponsor read on Substack The Durango Four Corners Hat The Poorly Dressed Entrepreneur read on Substack My Avalanche Story My Avalanche Story read on Substack Park Kiosks Mais Quiosques read on Substack Telluride Bluegrass Documentary Telluride Bluegrass Documentary read on Substack Ski FKT Database FKski (Fastest Known Ski) read on Substack The Colorado Trail Documentary Colorado Trail Documentary read on Substack Local AI Utility Local, Local AI read on Substack Spherical Mirror The Spherical Mirror read on Substack Shark Tank for Social Enterprise Shark Tank for Social Enterprise read on Substack Grants That Fund the Fundraising Pay a Nonprofit to Raise Its Own Money read on Substack Rebates for Riding, Not Buying Incentives for Riding Bikes read on Substack The Once-Every-50-Years Newspaper Once every 50 years newspaper read on Substack Route Setters Documentary Who established the routes you climb? the idea Durango Solar System Project What the Heck Are You Doing? read on Substack Moving Line Documentary Filmmaking as Social Enterprise read on Substack Small Capital The Silver Tsunami Versus Climate Change read on Substack Durango Solar System Project From Art to Capital and Back Again read on Substack Denver Food Rescue How I Started, and Almost Ruined, My First Social Enterprise read on Substack Small Capital How to Quit: When You’re Doing Your Best read on Substack Small Capital The Art of Walking Away read on Substack

Outdoor pursuits

Much of my time is spent climbing, skiing, running, and cycling through the mountains and desert.

2026 Monument Valley Ultra 50K · Overall First place
2022 Grand Traverse Ski Race · Coed Third place
2020 Grin and Bear It 15K (virtual) · Overall Fourth place
2023 Mt Antero · FKT 2h 37m 44s 2023 Centennial Peak · FKT 1h 45m 31s 2023 Sunshine and Redcloud Peaks · FKT 11h 58m 4s

How to use this site

Where these figures come from

Every figure on this site comes from the impact ledger, an evidence-based database of all projects' inputs and outcomes. One row per metric per year, each with a source and a confidence grade.

Dollars use a given metric's pre-determined multiplier, CPI adjusted to 2026 USD. Capital raised counts as an input only.

See the ideas Read the methodology What I am doing now Read my poems

Keep reading

The rest of the ledger.

The ledger The Social Entrepreneur Contact