Meet Our New Executive Director
Tiffani Morrow Smith is a dynamic leader with expertise in leadership, mentorship, and non-profit management from Chapel Hill, N.C. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a Bachelor’s in Exercise & Sport Science and received a Master’s in Sport Management from St. John’s University in New York City.
As a firm believer in the power of sport to transform lives, Tiffani previously worked for NASCAR, the New York Jets, and the Cleveland Cavaliers before joining the Grizzlies
Foundation as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in 2012. Tiffani spent the first seven of eleven seasons with the Grizzlies Foundation, leading their signature, direct-service
mentoring program. Under her leadership, the Grizzlies TEAM Mentor Program experienced record growth. The program, having started with just two schools, increased to five partner schools across various Memphis neighborhoods, serving more than 300 middle school youth each week.
Most recently, Tiffani held the role of Senior Manager of MENTOR Memphis Grizzlies (MMG). In this role, Tiffani served as the state’s liaison to MENTOR National, helping to
execute the Foundation’s mission of increasing the quality and quantity of mentoring in the midsouth through managing the Foundation’s grant portfolio, creating and facilitating
best-practice training, and securing meaningful community partnerships to help the nearly 65 MMG partner organizations obtain and retain the volunteers.
Tiffani has dedicated her career to not only empowering the next generation of leaders, but also challenging systems that hinder equitable, diverse, and inclusive professional
environments. Today, Tiffani strives to make a meaningful impact on the lives of young people through her role as Executive Director of REACH Memphis, a Memphis-based
non-profit with the mission to prepare high-potential students from public high schools for college and careers through mentoring, exposure to summer academic/leadership
experiences, intensive college preparation counseling, and career planning.
Some of Tiffani’s most significant accomplishments include establishing the Mentoring Matters Summit of Tennessee, a three-day state-wide conference that returned for its second year in the Spring of 2023, as well as the creation of the MMG Youth Advisory Council, which earned the Foundation the 2022 Nonprofit of the Year Spark Award from cityCURRENT Memphis.
Tiffani’s passion for serving is also carried out through her membership in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Junior League of Memphis. A lover of travel, Tiffani never turns down an opportunity to explore a new city, see her Carolina Panthers play, or sample the best local eats and coffee. Tiffani is also currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Leadership & Organizational Management from Carolina University.