Robin is managing director of The Smidt Foundation. She brings to The Smidt Foundation and Harbor Freight Tools for Schools broad experience in public, private and nonprofit leadership and inventiveness. Robin served as chief of staff to two Los Angeles mayors, Antonio Villaraigosa and Richard Riordan—the first woman in the history of the nation’s second largest city to serve in this post.
Robin has also held senior positions at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands, the Broad Foundation and the California Community Foundation. She has worked extensively as an independent consultant for entities focused on advancing access, equity, and engagement in civic life, public education, philanthropy and the arts. Robin has been a port commissioner, chief deputy for two Los Angeles City Council members, and the executive director of two nonprofit organizations.
A trustee of the John Randolph Haynes & Dora Haynes Foundation and advisor to the Public Policy Institute of California, Robin has an MA in urban studies from Occidental College, and a BA in political studies and journalism from Pitzer College.