Leighton Watts serves as the Vice President of Community Engagement for JPMorganChase where he leads philanthropic partnerships and community connectivity for the firm in North Texas and Central Texas supporting Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio. In this role, Leighton helps ensure that JPMorganChase is proactive, responsive, and engaged in the community’s most pressing needs focused on affordable housing, small business, financial health, and jobs + skills.
Prior to joining JPMC, Leighton worked in philanthropy at The Dallas Foundation (TDF) where he founded and led the Water Cooler at Pegasus Park, a co-located community of 37 social impact, nonprofit, and philanthropic tenants aiming to drive collaboration to accelerate organizational missions, build capacity, and support deeper impact across the Dallas social sector. Before The Dallas Foundation, Leighton worked for Cicero Group’s social impact practice where he provided strategic planning, program design, and measurement and evaluation consulting services to non-profit organizations across the country. Leighton began his career in Deloitte Consulting’s Human Capital practice and served as the Manager of Strategic Initiatives for the National Math and Science Initiative.
Leighton received a B.S. in Human & Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University. Leighton lives in Oak Cliff with his wife and three daughters.