Our Denton Staff

United Way of Denton County welcomed Gary Henderson as President and CEO in June of 2011. Gary comes to UWDC from Communities In Schools of North Texas, which he joined as CEO in 2003.

Prior to entering the non-profit sector, Gary enjoyed a successful 17-year business career as a Price Waterhouse Senior Manager and a Bank of America Senior Vice President. Gary led Bank of America’s Private Bank Technology and Operations division including more than 400 associates across the U.S. and Grand Cayman offshore Private Bank.

Gary brings a bias for growth, a passion for helping people and a deep desire to leverage his skills and experiences to promote the common good through service in our community.  Gary, his wife Pam have two adult children and have called Denton County home for more than 20 years.

 

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Vicki Smith celebrated 14 years of service with United Way of Denton County in 2011, where she has served as a beacon to smoothly and efficiently guide the organization in all of its financial operations. Smith brought her background from Military Club Support in Abilene, a printing and publishing firm, where she worked as an accountant for 13 years, and D.R. Horton Custom Homes, where she worked for two years as a staff accountant, to United Way of Denton County in March 1997. During her time with United Way, she has improved technology and streamlined the accounting procedures, thereby reducing administrative costs. Smith is involved in many community organizations. She is Club Treasurer for the Denton Rotary Club where she is a past co-chair of RYLA and is a member of the Denton Quilt Guild. In addition to these organizations, she is also involved with several United Way committees, including the finance and administration committee, technology and audit committees. Smith holds a Bachelor’s in business administration and accounting from Abilene Christian University. Vicki and her husband, Mike, have been married for 31 years. Their son, Jared is a veteran, who served two tours in Iraq, is pursuing his degree at UNT and their daughter, Chelsea is an educator and a TWU graduate.

United Way of Denton County welcomed Jodi Ramón in January 2007 in the Community Resources Director position. She went on to serve as Public Sector Campaign Director and was promoted to Resource Development Director in August 2010.  Prior to coming to United Way, she worked for six years in the human resources department for Texas Woman’s University. 

Ramón is involved in several community organizations in addition to serving as the manager for the SECC committee.  She is a member of the North Texas Society for Human Resource Management (NTSHRM) and the Denton Chamber of Commerce.

Ramón holds the Professional in Human Resources certification (PHR).  She enjoys spending her time off attending various sporting events with her husband and children.

Leah Jordan is a versatile staff member for United Way of Denton County. She began working with UWDC in September 2002, following a five year career managing an insurance agency. During her time with United Way, she has served as Resource Development Director, Director of Marketing and Communications, and currently serves as the Community Impact Director. One of her many accomplishments came after reorganizing the Leader On Loan program in 2004, resulting in exceeding the campaign goal in 2004, for the first time since 2001. Jordan oversees partnerships with 26 partner agencies, as well as being responsible for United Way initiatives and programs. She is also involved in many other community organizations including Kiwanis, The Healthy Communities Coalition, The Homeless Coalition, the Denton Information Network, and serving as Disaster & Volunteer Coordinator for VOAD (Volunteers and Organizations Assisting in Disasters). Jordan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Texas Woman’s University. She, her husband, and son reside in Denton, TX.

Shannon Goleman, hired in March of 2011, holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communicatoins from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. Prior to joining the United Way team, Shannon worked in the Advertising Department of The Denton Record-Chronicle where she also served as co-producer of the LIttle d podcasts and was a frequent contributer to the paper's Local Spin blog. She continues to provide content for the DR-C as a guest columnist. Shannon brings almost two decades of experience to this position, mostly in the areas of print and electronic media, promotions and event coordination, and public relations.
As Marketing and Communications Director, Shannon is responsible for producing all marketing materials including printed pieces, videos and multimedia presentations. She also handles all media for the organization and coordinates special events. Shannon is involved in the community through her work with 35 Conferette, The Betty Ford Center Five Star Kids Program, The Denton Holiday Lighting Festival, and Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE.) She is also a member of the Denton Chamber of Commerce. Shannon and her husband Bobby reside in Carrollton, TX.

 

Emily Green joined the United Way Staff in October of 2010. Prior to her employment with United Way, Emily served as secretary of the Drama Department at Texas Woman's University. Emily holds a degree in Psychology from Texas A&M and is pursuing her Masters of Speech Therapy at University of North Texas.
As Grant and Donor Information Management Director, Emily is responsible for donor and partner information management and analysis, grant research and writing, processing pledge forms and runing campaign reports. She also coordinates with staff, volunteers, partner agencies and donor companies to manage resources and information related to campaign and community impact.
Emily volunteers through Hope for North Texas with Kids Quest, providing art-, music-, and play-therapy for children of divorce. She also volunteers through CT Kids, the children’s ministry at Cross Timbers Community Church in Argyle. Emily resides in Roanoke with Kaci, her black lab.