THE AMBER WEITZER PODCAST SILHOUETTES OF SUCCESS
LEAH KING | EPISODE 78 | SHOW NOTES
FEATURED GUEST
Our V.I.P. Featured Guest Leah King is the president and CEO of United Way of Tarrant County– a nonprofit leader that brings together individuals, groups, and service providers to help solve some of the community’s toughest social issues. Over the course of her career, she has held corporate positions in community relations, marketing communications, investor relations, and public affairs with Fortune 500 companies in oil & gas, and retail, and in regional community banking. A passionate community advocate, Leah serves as a director on the boards of Cook Children’s Medical Center, Baylor Scott & White All Saints, T3 (Tarrant To & Through), and the Fort Worth Club. She is also an active member of the Fort Worth Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, Trinity River Vision and Downtown TIF boards. In addition, she serves on the President’s Advisory Council for Texas Wesleyan University and the Chancellor’s Advisory Council for Texas Christian University.
In 2015 she was listed in Fort Worth CEO Magazine’s 20 Women to Watch, and in 2020, 2021, and 2022 she was named by Fort Worth Magazine as one of the Top 400 of Fort Worth’s Most Influential People. In 2020 the PGA recognized Leah as a Healthcare Hero for her leadership and response during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In May of 2021, Leah was re-elected to serve a second term on the board of directors of the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) and is currently serving as board president. TRWD is responsible for ensuring that a reliable and sustainable water supply, flood protection and family-friendly recreational opportunities are available for the 11 county-area it serves.
Leah is married to her best friend; Barry and totally obsessed with their grandson!
CONVERSATION HIGHLIGHTS
Brilliance: Leah prefers a little structure in her days, exercise and connecting with God. This helps set the tone for her day, setting the intention with positivity and energy. Leah refers to this time as “she and God working some things out!”. Her work days are varied with a full calender of advocacy events, meetings one on ones to situations of immediate needs. In her evenings she is able to strengthen relationships, networks and connections then she is able to unwind! She infuses a classic, timeless brilliance into this world.
Tribute: She grew up in an environment of serving and supporting community. Her father in the United States Army, her Mother a Human Resource professional that gave back by sharing her skills and talents at local schools and organizations. An example Leah shared was her Mother helping with mock interviews and how to balance a checkbook, foundational life skills. She shares how giving back with her time, wisdom, knowledge and experience to others is so rewarding. Looking back when she was early in her career, she felt others might’ve been “too busy”, which could be true-but as Leah says and she does…if someone means what they offer, they will find the time. She is a genuine, shining example of that outreach philosphy. Talking about her proudest or a favorite success, she shares that nothing comes closet to hearing your grandchild says your name for the first time along with her immense pride in the stellar work she and the entire Unite Way of Tarrant County team accomplished during the pandemic, at the height of it and beyond to this day. The numbers she shares are jaw dropping. Her leadership, the team work is awe-inspiring.
Momentum: Understanding your body’s physical response to stress. Practice recognizing how you react in stressful situations, so you can harness, embrace the challenges. Leah shares this as something she wishes she would have known early on in her career. When talking about a best practice suggestion on how Leah works through a perceived barrier of the process of getting unstuck; she shares that there are people that are led into our life for a variety of people into our lives to be trusted advisors, all ages or people you can share ideas with, step back from the noise and cutter to be creative-data gathering, analyzing then determine the best path forward. Watch for that nervousness, it can be paralyzing. This segment needs to be listened to over, and over and over! Gaining Leah’s insights on growth through challenges she shared an example of separating her identity from what she did or where she worked. She is loyal but not at the expense of her or her family. She learned to not allow it to define her.
INTENTIONAL INSPIRATION
Trust your gut. Be still, be quiet. Honor what you are feeling.
RESOURCE LIST
LEAH KING
Favorites
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
Positive Affirmations for Women to Increase Confidence
Fool’s Errand by Lonnie G. Bunch
