Leadership
Mr. Riki Ellison is the Founder and Chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, a non-profit organization launched in 2002 with a singular purpose and mission to drive for the deployment, development, and evolution of missile defense. Since its founding, the organization has emerged as the expert voice on missile defense in the world.
Mr. Ellison has been in attendance of over 307 missile defense tests, 821 U.S. and Allied base visits, and has advocated for missile defense in all 50 states and 34 countries.
Academic Programs
Fostering collaboration between the military and academia, Mr. Ellison and MDAA have created three academic executive programs:
- SHIELD program in partnership with the University of Southern California
- AETOS program in partnership with the University of Arizona
- ARTEMIS program in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi
The SHIELD program has produced 94 graduates, many of whom have become significant leaders in the Missile Defense Enterprise nationally and globally. Many of their capstone projects have been implemented in Congressional law and in official courses of action.
Recognition Programs
Mr. Ellison established the annual U.S. and Allied “Missile Defender of the Year Award Ceremony.” There have been 87 DOY events hosted in nine countries that have recognized 1,070 DOY Awardees from 25 different nations since 2011.
Memorials and Community Service
Mr. Ellison led the creation and building of two historic missile defense and veteran public memorials: one at Vandenberg AFB in California honoring President Ronald Reagan, and another at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, dedicated with the late Senator Daniel Inouye.
In 2011, Mr. Ellison helped bring the NFL and U.S. Army together on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), leading to a partnership announced in 2012 by the NFL Commissioner and the Army Chief of Staff.
In 2006, Mr. Ellison founded the Youth Impact Program for disadvantaged and at-risk youth in our nation’s inner cities. There have been 52 Youth Impact Programs in 16 of our nation’s major cities and major universities.
Professional Football Career
Earlier in his career, Mr. Ellison played professional football for 10 years as a starting middle linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders, winning three Super Bowl championships in 1984, 1988, and 1989.
He is the first New Zealander to play in the NFL and the first New Zealander to win a Super Bowl. Mr. Ellison was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and the New Zealand Māori Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
Ellison played at the University of Southern California, winning the 1978 National Championship and two Rose Bowls following a State Football Championship in Arizona at Amphitheater High School.
Education
Mr. Ellison earned a Bachelor of Science degree in International Relations with a graduate certificate in Defense and Strategic Studies from the University of Southern California in 1983.
Mr. Ellison attended the National Security Seminar at the Army War College in 2009 and 2020 and the National Security Seminar at the Air War College in 2011. Mr. Ellison also attended the University of Notre Dame, where he attended a Business Management and Entrepreneurial program in 2013.