Molly Higgins is the Executive Vice President of Community Impact and Engagement for the Los Angeles Rams. In her role, Higgins oversees the Rams community outreach and social justice efforts and aims to use the team's platform to fight for equality, drive equity and provide access and opportunity for youth.
Through various programs and initiatives, Higgins and her team work to address issues of poverty that disproportionately impact communities of color including education inequities, housing and food insecurities, community-police relations, youth justice and mentorship.
One of the Rams' signature programs is the Watts Rams youth football program consisting of 125 boys and girls who are coached by LAPD officers. Using the game of football, the goal of the program is to help bridge the divide between the Watts community and law enforcement allowing the kids to see the officers as human beings and mentors, while allowing the officers to get to know the community members they serve. The Rams fund all components of the program and throughout the year, provide engagement opportunities with current players and enrichment and educational experiences to help the kids dream beyond their current reality.
Beyond the Watts Rams, Higgins is driven by the fact that talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. With that as a focus, Higgins has placed an emphasis on the Rams being a collaborative partner in the education space with the goal of helping to close the achievement gap for low-income students. Through year-round school engagement including the Rams Readers literacy program, PLAY 60 youth health and wellness Field Days, mentorship programs, internship opportunities, incentive campaigns, playground builds, campus beautifications, career chats, college field trips and funding City Year student success coaches, the Rams are committed to ensuring a child's education and upward mobility are not dictated by their zip code.
Three years ago, the Rams created an additional education program when they introduced the Kenny Washington Memorial Scholarship to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Rams becoming the first professional sports team in the modern era to sign an African-American player, Kenny Washington, in 1946. Each year, the scholarship provides up to four years of financial support for 13 students who are among the first in their families to pursue a post-secondary education.
Last season, the team continued their efforts to support the 1 in 5 Angelenos who struggle with food insecurity with efforts like mobile food drives as well as Taste of the Rams, which Higgins introduced in 2016 upon the team's return to Los Angeles. To date, the event has raised nearly $1.4 million dollars for LA Regional Food Bank and provided more than 5 million meals to Angelenos in need.
In 2024, the Rams will host the 4th annual WalkUnitedLA at SoFi Stadium to help United Way's efforts to break the cycles of poverty through homelessness and housing, education and economic opportunity initiatives. Other areas of focus include growing the game of youth and high school football and celebrating the contributions of our military members and veterans through our year-round salute to service efforts. Additionally, the team participates in a variety of special events each year to raise awareness and funding for numerous local non-profits throughout the greater LA region to improve the lives of Angelenos.
Beyond the organization's charitable priorities, the Rams community impact team works to understand each player's areas of interest and aligns them with causes they are passionate about to enable them to personally impact their community. When Andrew Whitworth joined the Rams in 2017, Higgins worked with him to create a community impact strategy. Leading up to Super Bowl LVI, his impact was recognized when he has awarded the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year, the league's most prestigious honor that recognizes a player's commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as excellence on the field.
In addition to Higgins' community impact and engagement responsibilities, she is part of the Rams' executive team that helps shape the organization's off the field strategies.
The Sports Business Journal named Higgins to their 2020 class of "Game Changers." In 2019, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles recognized Higgins with an EmpowerHer Award for her commitment to advance equity in Los Angeles. During her time in St. Louis, Higgins was a recipient of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis' "Spirit of Justice Award" honoring individuals who have demonstrated accomplishment, leadership and integrity in facilitating and promoting justice. In 2014, Higgins was recognized as one of St. Louis' "Most Influential Business Women" by the St. Louis Business Journal. Higgins was named to the St. Louis Business Journal's 30 under 30 list in 2006, an annual award that honors 30 St. Louis-area business leaders under the age of 30.
Prior to joining the Rams, Higgins worked in public relations for Unigraphics Solutions, a NYSE-listed global computer software company.
A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a B.A. in public relations and a minor in marketing, Higgins is also a graduate of the Coro Women in Leadership program and participated in the Stanford Graduate School of Business Program for NFL Managers. She and her wife, Missy, reside in Playa Vista.
