Jennifer Sampson, CEO of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas with Lyndal Stephens Greth (left) and Ashlee and Chris Kleinert (top right) during the Toqueville Society luncheon in Dallas on Sept. 15, 2026.
Jennifer Sampson was in her element as she officially ended her 25 years of leadership roles for United Way of Metropolitan Dallas — including the last 15 years as its transformational CEO.
“I feel like my heart is about to explode,” Sampson told 300 members of the Tocqueville Society of Dallas attending its luncheon Tuesday at the Ritz-Carlton. “I’ve stood at the United Way podium thousands of times over the past 25 years, but never quite like this. So if I stumble up here, I hope you’ll remember the old me.”
Ashlee Kleinert, Jennifer Sampson and Chris Kleinert, CEO of Hunt Realty Investments, at the Tocqueville Society luncheon Sept. 15.
Tamytha Caneron/Courtesy Tocqueville Society
Lyndal Stephens Greth, executive chairman of The Stephens Greth Foundation, left, with Jennifer Sampson, at the Tocqueville Society luncheon Sept 15. Sampson is leaving her post as CEO of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas at the end of September to become CEO of the Dallas-based foundation.
Tamytha Caneron/Courtesy Tocqueville Society
Fireside chat moderator, Jim Burke. CEO of Vistra, left, with Tim Burke, CEO, Fifth Third Bancorp, and Curtis Farmer, Fifth Third vice chairman at the Tocqueville Society luncheon Sept. 15.
Courtesy Tocqueville Society/Tamytha Caneron
By that, the 56-year-old — ubiquitously known as Jennifer or Jen — means a high-octane, self-assured leader, multitasker who never takes no for an answer.
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Except when it comes from her father, Dr. Jerry Hilton.
“If you look at the dictionary for a strong-willed child, that’s her picture,” Hilton said in a tribute video that she was forbidden to see before the luncheon. “She pressed every boundary.”
“Things that we don’t want to go into,” adds her mom, Gracie.
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Sampson is leaving United Way at the end of this month to become the CEO of The Stephens Greth Foundation, a $2-billion-plus endowment that supports philanthropic initiatives throughout Texas — large and small.
The foundation, established two years ago by the family of the late oil tycoon, Autry Stephens, recently made headlines with its $15.5 million gift to Dallas’ United Way — the largest donation in the nonprofit’s 102-year history.
“To celebrate this extraordinary gift — and to know that it comes from the family and the foundation that I’ll have the privilege of serving next — makes this moment one that I will never forget.” Sampson told the audience.
“There is also something pretty extraordinary about standing here with these two parts of my professional life meeting at the same moment.”
Tocqueville Society of Dallas holds a special place in her heart.
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It was founded in 1984 by the late Ruth Sharp Altshuler and Margot Perot to support Dallas’ United Way. Today, it’s the nation’s largest Tocqueville Society — named for philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville — with more than 1,400 high-profile donors who pay at least $10,000 annually to join.
Ashlee and Chris Kleinert are co-chairs of a campaign to raise $800 million for United Way. She puts it this way: “Jennifer has a remarkable ability to turn a casual conversation into a commitment — and somehow make you grateful that she did.
“Chris and I are living proof. We started as interested observers, and before we knew it, we were all in. That’s Jennifer.”
Sampson’s parting gift from her United Way colleagues was a plaque with her rallying cry: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”
The luncheon also included a fireside chat with Tim Smith, CEO of Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp, which recently completed its acquisition of Dallas-based Comerica. All of its branding flipped to Fifth Third earlier this month.
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Smith said he was surprised that no one had brought up the financial company’s curious — some might say awkward — name.
“There’s a funny story behind that,” Smith said. Fifth National Bank and Third National Bank merged in 1908 when prohibitionists were gaining popularity. The banks went with Fifth Third, he said, worried that Third Fifth might be construed as a reference to three-fifths of alcohol.
The long goodbye
Her departure, announced nearly six months ago, wasn’t exactly unexpected by her fans — more of a dreaded reality that came to roost.
She feels she’s accomplished what she set out to do when she became CEO.
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Under her tutelage, one of the nation’s largest United Ways closed out its fiscal year in June with a record $68.2 million in revenue — more than double what it was five years ago.
In November, Sampson put on an over-the-chart 100th anniversary celebration for United Way at Fair Park and the Cotton Bowl that drew more than 30,000. It was spotlighted by a food and wine festival of local chefs and headline performances by Janet Jackson and Blake Shelton.
She feels that the nonprofit is in solid financial condition with a strong team in place and ready for its next chapter.
Never one to put things on repeat, Sampson felt it was time to hand over the reins and start her next adventure alongside Dallasite Lyndal Stephens Geth.
New horizon, same purpose
Its 51-year-old executive chairman created the foundation in 2024 to support Texas initiatives following the sale of her father’s shale oil company for $26 billion. Forbes estimates the family’s worth at $30 billion — No. 37 on its just released America’s richest list.
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“This is a unique and incredibly exciting opportunity,” Sampson said in an interview. “Lyndal chose to take what had been entrusted to her family and put it to work creating opportunity for others.”
Sampson said their core values of education, healthcare, alleviating hunger and expanding opportunities are intertwined. “I believe deeply in her vision and what we can build together. My chapter is changing, but the purpose that has driven my life’s work has not.”
Terri West, who chairs the search committee, will only say that finding Sampson’s successor “is in progress.”
Sampson wrapped up the gathering with a tissue-dabbing swansong.
“All of you have taught me that no one does anything important alone. And somewhere along the way, the lines blurred,” she said. “Board members became friends. Donors became partners. Partners became champions. Colleagues became family.
“We are stitched together by shared experiences, tough moments and meaningful wins. And my life is much richer for it.”