Riki Ellison is Chairman and Founder of the Youth Impact Program (YIP), a non-profit organization. 
     
Riki attended the University of Southern California, where he played linebacker for the Trojans' football team, winning the 1979 and 1980 Rose Bowls along with the 1978 national championship. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, where he won three Super Bowls during his ten years in the NFL.  He played his final three years in the NFL for the Los Angeles Raiders, retiring in 1992.

In 1999, Ellison founded the Student Athlete Permanent Impact Foundation.  SAPIF is a non-profit organization that mentors young people from communities in need through academics and athletics.  

In 2005, Ellison created an initiative called the Youth Impact Program for disadvantaged youth in the inner cities. The program, in partnership with the NFL and USC, is an outreach effort aimed at making a permanent and positive impact in the lives of disadvantaged male youth living in the inner city.   It seeks to engage and develop positive community role models through academics, character building, and athletics.  The Youth Impact program held its inaugural camp during the summer of 2006 on the USC campus in Los Angeles.  In 2008, Tulane University was added to the program. And in 2010, Syracuse University was added to YIP. Ellison lives in Alexandria, VA, is married and has four grown children.