Cynthia Robbins has helped to build, lead and support successful, enduring organizations since she was a student at Harvard and Stanford. Passionate about engaging communities to improve social outcomes, she is skilled in program, resource and organizational development, capacity-building and program design, particularly for youth and family-serving organizations. Cynthia is an expert in helping mission-driven organizations take lofty missions and good programs to scale. Her work has taken her from winning in the courtroom on behalf of low-income clients to serving as a successful consultant, advocate, funder, executive and board member.
Relevant personal, professional experiences not mentioned elsewhere
- Child of African-American, early U.N. parents;
- Grew up learning French and Spanish, lived in garden apartments constructed for U.N. affiliates to escape housing discrimination;
- Co-founder, Harvard Radcliffe Expressions Dance Company and the Third World Center Organization, developed united approach to challenges facing campus communities of color;
- Co-founder, East Palo Alto Community Law Project while at Stanford Law;
- Civil rights litigator, Center for Law in the Public Interest;
- D.C. public defender and juvenile law adjunct;
- Director, Urban Recovery Legal Assistance of Public Counsel following the 1992 L.A. unrest;
- Vice president, Eureka Communities fellowship program—sponsored nonprofit leaders visits to other communities for shared learning;
- Senior program officer, Meyer Foundation, managed general grant program and Neighborhood Intergroup Relations project sponsoring projects across cultural lines;
- Director, See Forever Foundation, operates school at D.C. youth prison;
- Co-authored articles on new strategy for civil rights enforcement;
- Real estate investor and entrepreneur; and
- Convener, speaker, moderator, facilitator, writer.
