LEADERSHIP AND BOARD

Leah King was named president and CEO of United Way of Tarrant County in November 2019. As president and CEO, Ms. King provides leadership, sets strategic direction and ensures operational excellence, in accordance with the values and mission of United Way of Tarrant County. She is responsible for all aspects of the organization including fiscal oversight, growing financial support, developing processes and policies, facilitating cross-departmental collaboration and promoting a positive, multi-cultural environment.

Previously, she was executive vice president and chief operating officer. She was responsible for driving the strategic vision and direction of the organization in the areas of workplace campaign, donor relations, community investment, volunteer engagement and the Day of Action program.

Before joining the staff of United Way, Ms. King spent her career in the private sector as a public affairs, community relations, investor relations and marketing professional. A passionate advocate for children, Leah is active in the community. She currently serves as a director for Cook Children’s Medical Center and on the board of governors for the Fort Worth Club. She is also an active member of the Fort Worth (TX) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. Ms. King is a founding member of the United Way of Tarrant County’s Women United and has served as its Women’s Fund development committee chair.

Beth Watson is executive vice president and chief human resources officer for United Way of Tarrant County where she is responsible for all employee relations across the organization. She joined the organization in the fall of 2017.

In her role, she manages all recruitment, onboarding, talent management, and health and safety programs; ensures organizational and leadership development, performance management and strategic human resource planning; and the creation and implementation of policies. She oversees a competitive compensation and benefits program and ensures compliance with employment-related laws, regulations and best practices.

Before United Way of Tarrant County, Beth served as a human resources consultant for WhitneySmith Company, where she advised clients of diverse sizes and industries regarding human resources best practices.

Ms. Watson received a Bachelor of Business Administration, Management and Marketing from Texas Christian University, Neeley School of Business, and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

Crystal Sands is the Chief Development Officer for United Way of Tarrant County and manages all development activities for the organization, including strategy, donor communication and volunteer management to help support fundraising objectives and maximize community impact to the most vulnerable populations in Tarrant County.
Prior to joining United Way of Tarrant County, she served as the Vice President of Philanthropy for Youth First, Inc. where she directed all major fundraising efforts, including major gifts, planned giving, annual appeal, events and local, state and federal grants. She has more than 15 years of sales, marketing and customer relations experience, including 13 years in major gift fundraising, corporate sales, business development and strategic planning.
Crystal has a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Indiana University, Kelley School of Business. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is also a Veritus Scholar.

Gary is an accounting and finance professional with over twenty years of experience in public, private and non-profit sectors overseeing compliance, payroll, forecasting, budgeting and audits.

A dynamic professional with knowledge in risk mitigation, cash management, internal controls and strategic vision. He is a hands-on problem solver dedicated to solving any issue and a willingness to take on new challenges.

Prior to joining United Way of Tarrant County, Gary was the Chief Financial Officer at The Atlanta Botanical Garden for the last nine years. There he led the Garden through expansion by opening an additional Garden in Gainesville, GA, secured financing to acquire land, to further expand the Garden in the future and most importantly, led the Garden through the pandemic. He served as a member of the organizations Leadership Team and managed a $30M annual budget. In addition to his responsibilities for finance and accounting, he supervised human resources, IT, retail and a full service restaurant. He brings a unique and dynamic perspective to United Way, benefiting from his diverse experiences not only at The Atlanta Botanical Garden but also his time at the Georgia Aquarium where he was for six year prior to joining the Garden. Gary started his career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Washington DC where he led audits for clients such as the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice.

Gary holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, OH where he also played collegiate baseball. Gary is married to his wife Jennifer and they have two boys, Zac (10) & Colton (5). In his spare time, you can find Gary involved in his children’s activities or watching sports.

Deanna W. Titzler has more than 25 years of marketing and communication experience working in the higher education, nonprofit and private sectors. Most recently, she served as Interim Associate Vice President of Marketing & Communication at Texas Woman’s University, leading the division responsible for media relations, social media, web communications, creative services, digital content creation, crisis communications, marketing and advertising. She worked at TWU for more than five years in positions of growing responsibility prior to be named interim AVP.

Prior to TWU, Titzler lived in Hyderabad, India, where she was president of the Twin-Cities Expatriates Association, heading a multinational board of directors that established the vision, strategy and goals for the association. She previously worked for General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin, including eight years at the Aeronautics division in Fort Worth. During her tenure there, she led the employee giving campaign for the company for several years, leading to record breaking donations to United Way of Tarrant County and related agencies.

Titzler earned her Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University and has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Business Journalism from Baylor University. Past board positions include Carter BloodCare and the Westlake Academy Foundation.

As Executive Director of the Area Agency on Aging of Tarrant County, Ms. Johnson oversees the overall operations of the agency and lead all awareness and advocacy efforts to improve the quality of life for people ages 60 and over, as well as people with disabilities and caregivers in Tarrant County. She works to develop a coordinated continuum of services and serves as the liaison between the agency and the federal and state offices on aging, and lead partnerships among local community organizations. Ms. Johnson manages the financial and administrative duties related to pursuing foundation, state and federal government grants, as well as the process for allocating and investing funds in Tarrant County. She also serves as a member of United Way of Tarrant County’s executive team.

Most recently, Ms. Johnson served as an Administrative Law Judge for the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), where she presided over highly complex appeal hearings involving enforcement action taken by state agencies, including the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas Department of Public Safety, against citizens and businesses. Prior to that role, she was an Enforcement Attorney and Guardianship Attorney for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and worked in private practice, including her own law firm. Before her legal career, Ms. Johnson was Director of Social Services at Heartland Healthcare from 2010-2014, where she investigated and documented allegations of abuse, neglect and exploitation. She was the Nursing Facility Administrator at Fort Worth Manor, where she directed daily operations of the 129-bed skilled nursing facility that included a 54-bed behavioral unit. She also served as the Nursing Facility Administrator for Sweeny House where she managed the 94-bed skilled nursing facility.

Ms. Johnson earned her Juris Doctor from Texas A&M School of Law. She has a B.A. in Social Work from the University of North Texas. She is a licensed social worker, attorney, a qualified mediator and has a certificate in elder mediation.

As Executive Vice President and Chief Impact Officer, Williams is responsible for leading the strategic investment of UWTC’s financial and non-financial resources to improve outcomes for individuals and families in Tarrant County. She provides leadership, strategic vision and direction to the organization in the areas of community outreach, allocations, volunteer engagement and supervision of veteran and tax assistance programs and regional offices. Prior to the promotion, Williams served as vice president of Community Investment and regional director of United Way of Tarrant County-Arlington since 2018.

Williams brings vast experience in strategic planning, program development, and management and capable, effective leadership to the region. Prior to joining UWTC, Williams was a social worker and grant and community partnership manager at Fort Worth’s historic Dunbar High School.

Williams is involved in and serves in board leadership roles with several local organizations, including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and Leadership Arlington. She earned a Master of Social Work from Missouri State University and is licensed in the state of Texas as a social worker.