The Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF) is pleased to announce the promotion of Richard Smith, MSW to vice president, recognizing 16 years of leadership and service to the Foundation and the communities it serves.
In this expanded role, Smith will continue to oversee JHF’s HIV/AIDS initiatives and Jewish agency portfolio while taking on broader strategic and operational leadership across the Foundation.
Smith joined JHF in October 2010 as a program associate for the Foundation’s HIV/AIDS hospital readmissions reduction project and was named HIV/AIDS program director in 2012. Since then, his role has grown alongside JHF’s HIV/AIDS work, spanning program development, grantmaking, public funding administration, community partnerships, quality improvement, and advocacy.
“Richard has been an important part of JHF for 16 years, and his leadership has helped shape not only our HIV/AIDS and Jewish community work, but the Foundation as a whole,” said JHF President and CEO Danny Rosen, PhD, MSW. “He brings a deep commitment to community, a collaborative approach to leadership, and an ability to build trusted relationships that move our work forward. I’m excited to have Richard take on this expanded role and help lead JHF into its next chapter.”
Smith has played a central role in expanding the impact of JHF’s AIDS/HIV initiatives throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania, with Allegheny County recently reporting the lowest number of new HIV diagnoses since surveillance began. He oversees philanthropic awards to community partners and publicly funded contracts supporting HIV care and services and is a founding member of AIDS Free Pittsburgh, a collaborative public health movement launched in 2015 to reduce new infections and end AIDS-related stigma in Allegheny County.
Through his work, Smith has helped bring together healthcare providers, community organizations, public agencies, and advocates to expand access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and support, particularly for populations disproportionately affected by HIV.
Smith’s leadership at JHF has also extended beyond his programmatic work. From 2021 into 2026, he served as the Foundation’s chief relationship officer, supporting staff development, workplace culture, collaboration, and equity.
“I am excited and honored to continue to evolve with the Foundation. Our work is never done, and I am fortunate to work alongside so many passionate people who want to make our community a better place,” Smith said. “I owe much of my success to the countless individuals who saw value in working together as a collaborative.”
Before joining JHF, Smith worked as a quality manager and crisis social worker at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, including working with individuals living with HIV. Earlier experiences with Persad Center and the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, now Allies for Health & Wellbeing, helped direct his career in community health and social change.
Smith earned a dual bachelor’s degree in psychology and theater from Lock Haven University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh. He is also active in the Pittsburgh community, recently finishing a nine-year board term for the Kelly Strayhorn Theater and is a current board member at Pittsburgh City Theater.
