2026 J. Erik Jonsson Ethics Award

Abigail and Todd Williams understand that lasting change is rarely the result of a single voice or a single individual. Across Dallas–Fort Worth, their work reflects a belief that progress happens when people act together and remain close to the work itself. While they are widely recognized as leaders, they have consistently approached community work as partners, joining others in the effort rather than directing it from a distance.

Education became the place where this belief took root. Both recognized that improving outcomes for young people would require sustained collaboration across schools, communities, and civic institutions. Rather than positioning themselves at the center, Abby and Todd focused on strengthening the connections that allow people and institutions to move forward together. In accepting this award, their focus is to include new community members in our seminal events and to include others in our collective journey.

For Abby, this commitment was shaped by personal experience. Raised by a single mother who worked multiple jobs to provide stability, she saw firsthand how schools and teachers can change the course of a child’s life. That understanding guided her years at Southern Methodist University and later her professional work in philanthropy at Goldman Sachs. Over time, Abby felt drawn not only to support causes she believed in but also to make a direct, personal impact on the lives of students and families. That desire led her to found United to Learn, where she aligned public schools, private institutions, and community partners around a shared vision for student achievement. Serving as the inaugural chief executive officer, Abby helped expand the organization’s reach across 124 Dallas ISD elementary schools, resulting in accelerated educational outcomes across Dallas while creating sustainable models for community-driven improvement.

Todd advances this shared effort by focusing on how institutions can work together for lasting change. He serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Commit Partnership, the nation’s largest educational collective impact organization focused on improving academic outcomes and economic mobility across Dallas County and throughout Texas. Founded at a pivotal moment for Dallas, the organization reflects a belief that communities are strongest when institutions work alongside one another toward a common purpose. Through this work, The Commit Partnership brings together more than 200 partner organizations, including 15 school districts, in support of educational pathways serving over 700,000 students. From the beginning, Todd has emphasized collaboration across systems that had long operated independently, helping communities move forward together rather than in parallel.

Together, Abby and Todd have demonstrated what collective impact looks like in practice. In 2007, they helped establish Uplift Williams Preparatory School, a K–12 tuition-free public charter school serving more than 1,600 primarily low-income students in Dallas, and remained involved through service on the Uplift Education Board of Trustees. They were founding chairs of the Dallas–Fort Worth Regional Teach for America Advisory Board and have supported access to higher education through philanthropic investment, including the Williams Family President’s Scholarship at SMU. In each effort, their role has been to work alongside others and remain committed for the long term.

This shared approach reflects the values honored by the J. Erik Jonsson Ethics Award, named for J. Erik Jonsson, whose legacy reminds us that public virtue is lived through participation and responsibility. Abigail and Todd Williams exemplify an understanding of leadership rooted in commitment, pushing the work forward together and inviting others to join in the effort. Their story reminds us that when people act in concert, progress becomes possible and the work belongs to all of us.

Underwriting and Tickets

Abigail and Todd have requested that the luncheon reflect the future of Dallas and ask that sponsors consider filling their tables with emerging leaders and community champions.

Presenting Sponsor $25,000	Your sponsorship will establish and sustain the Maguire Student Advisory Board, empowering SMU students to champion ethics and inspire their peers through leadership and advocacy. Recognition as a presenting sponsor in the program and appropriate press and event material Opportunity to include a paragraph in the event program Invitation to pre-luncheon VIP reception VIP valet and best-in-house seating for 10 guests (1 table)
Platinum Sponsorship $15,000	Your sponsorship empowers SMU faculty to pioneer new courses and research initiatives, ensuring ethical considerations remain central to education and discovery. Recognition as a platinum sponsor in the program and appropriate press and event materials Invitation to pre-luncheon VIP reception Premier seating for 10 guests (1 table)
Gold Sponsor $10,000	Your sponsorship will support the Maguire Public Service Fellowship, providing funding to undergraduate and graduate student Fellows contributing to public service or ethics research during the summer. Recognition as a gold sponsor in the program and the Maguire Ethics Center website Invitation to pre-luncheon VIP reception Preferred seating for 10 guests (1 table)
Silver Sponsor $5,000	Your sponsorship underwrites student programming, including the annual Maguire Ethics Essay Prize, honoring students who thoughtfully address today’s most pressing ethical challenges. Recognition as a silver sponsor in the program and the Maguire Ethics Center website Invitation to pre-luncheon VIP reception Excellent seating for 10 guests (1 table)
Platinum Seating Individual Tickets $1,000	Your sponsorship champions the Public Scholar Lecture Series, an annual platform for faculty to present research that tackles society's most challenging ethical topics. Recognition on the Maguire Ethics Center website and social media networks Premier seating for 1 guest
Individual Ticket $250	All tickets include a $100 non-deductible benefit.

 

 

For 28 years, SMU’s Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility has endeavored to recognize extraordinary men and women of Dallas whose deeds and character are exemplary and whose service to our community is exceptional. They look beyond what they need and see greatness in the potential of others and know that goodness is the only investment that never fails. With enterprising spirits and unbound resilience, they give life to our city by looking for and championing the good. Recipients of the J. Erik Jonsson Ethics Award make Dallas what it is: a global gateway with limitless possibilities.

Since 1997, the J. Erik Jonsson Ethics Award luncheon has served as the Center’s sole fundraising event, supporting our dynamic programs that serve the SMU faculty, staff, and student body as well as our community at-large. The support from this event directly funds the Center’s annual operations and ensures its continued success.

The J. Erik Jonsson Ethics Award is named in honor of the public-spirited former mayor of Dallas. It is given to individuals who epitomize the spirit of moral leadership and public virtue. The founders of our nation foresaw that the ideal of liberty alone would not sustain our country unless accompanied by the concept of "public virtue," a sacrifice of self and resources for the public good. The Maguire Center is proud to present this award to people whose careers should be recognized, honored, and modeled.

Cynthia "Cynt" Marshall (2025)
Ashlee and Chris Kleinert (2024)
Peter Brodsky (2023)
Michael Sorrell (2022)
Cary M. Maguire (2021)
Ross Perot, Jr. (2020)
Nancy Strauss Halbreich (2019)
Bobby Lyle (2018)
David Brown (2017)
Terry Flowers (2016)
Lyda Hill (2015)
Gail G. Thomas (2014)
Nancy Ann and Ray L. Hunt (2013)
Walter J. Humann (2012)
Ruth Altshuler (2011)
Bob Buford (2010)
Ronald G. Steinhart (2009)
Michael M. Boone (2008)
Zan W. Holmes Jr., M.Th (2007)
Roger Staubach (2006)
Caren Prothro (2005)
Tom Luce (2004)
Ron Anderson, M.D. (2003)
Jack Lowe, Jr. (2002)
William T. Solomon (2000)
Stanley H. Marcus (1999)
Charles C. Sprague, M.D. (1998)
Curtis W. Meadows, Jr. (1997)

J. Erik Jonsson, a founder of Texas Instruments, was a selfless civic worker, former Dallas mayor, and committed philanthropist. He exemplified the highest ethical standards in his many business and civic endeavors. As a visionary, he sought to repay the debt that all businesses owe their community through selfless work as a civic leader and through his philanthropy in education.

Mr. Jonsson transformed Texas Instruments from a company offering geophysical services to one that pioneered the high-tech world of electronics and semiconductors. His accomplishments were recognized in 1975 when he was one of only four living Americans to be selected for the newly created National Business Hall of Fame, joining such historical luminaries as Henry Ford, J. Pierpont Morgan, Alfred P. Sloan, and Andrew Carnegie.

Mr. Jonsson insisted on the highest ethical standards for Texas Instruments. The company set an early example in formalizing a code of ethics for its executives and employees.

His own leadership in Dallas’s civic affairs culminated when he was selected to be mayor in the dark period following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Under his guidance from 1964-1971, the city built a new city hall, a new municipal library, and the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. He founded and largely financed the Goals for Dallas program that, for the first time in the city’s history, involved people of all races in establishing long-range municipal goals.

A mechanical engineer educated at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Mr. Jonsson was born in Brooklyn of Swedish immigrant parents, spent his early life in New Jersey, and moved to Dallas in 1934 to join the company that was a predecessor to Texas Instruments.