Rickell Howard Smith, President & CEO of YWCA Greater Cincinnati, is the Bengals' 2025 Inspire Change Changemaker– an annual recognition celebrating leaders who are driving significant, measurable change in their communities across the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative’s four pillars.
Rickell Howard Smith is being recognized for driving meaningful impact in the Greater Cincinnati region and empowering women across our community. Since joining the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, she has prioritized the development of a new shelter for domestic violence survivors that opened this past May, doubling the capacity to serve survivors from 67 to 120 individuals. Under her leadership, the organization took a trauma informed approach to this facility, incorporating a pet kennel and outdoor play area for children to further aid and support survivors and their families.
Before her tenure at YWCA Greater Cincinnati, Rickell served as the first Executive Director for the Center for Social Justice at the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio and spearheaded policy initiatives to improve the lives of families and children during her tenure as the Litigation and Policy Director at Children's Law Center. A proud native of Cincinnati, OH, Rickell holds a B.B.A from Howard University and a J.D from Temple University School of Law.
Rickell will be recognized at the Bengals Inspire Change game on 12/14 for her exceptional work in pursuit of empowering women through domestic violence support, programming, and advocacy. She will also receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation, paid directly to the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati. For more information on the 2025 Changemaker recipients, visit NFL.com/Changemakers.
Rickell Howard Smith, President & CEO of YWCA Greater Cincinnati, is the Bengals' 2025 Inspire Change Changemaker– an annual recognition celebrating leaders who are driving significant, measurable change in their communities across the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative’s four pillars.
