2008 Gaudino Dialogues: Failing to Succeed
Deborah Robinson ’78, Program Director for Emergency Network Los Angeles
Dr. Deborah Robinson is an internationally recognized facilitator with more than 20 years experience working with organizations and movements in numerous countries. She was the founder and executive director of International Possibilities Unlimited (IPU). For the six years in that capacity, she focused her attention on developing the capacity of domestic organizations to participate more effectively in international forums such as the United Nations. This process included helping domestic organizations develop a more global perspective, linking them with organizations in other countries involved in similar work, training delegations on United Nations (UN) processes, and participating in policy formation. IPU facilitated the participation of people from 34 countries in consultations, workshops and delegations, worked with organizations to introduce new issues onto the UN agenda, wrote regular informational e-mail updates that reached thousands of people, and mentored a cadre of young women, providing them with experiential learning opportunities.
Prior to that, Robinson worked at the World Council of Churches’ Program to Combat Racism, in Geneva, Switzerland. While there, she worked with churches, ecumenical organizations and movement groups from around the world on issues of racism and minority group rights. She was responsible for organizing a major World Council of Churches/National Council of Churches initiative in the United States on Racism as a Violation of Human Rights. Robinson’s last major project at the WCC was a covert fact-finding trip to Nigeria that resulted in the report entitled, Ogoni: The Struggle Continues.
Robinson received her BA in psychology from Williams, her Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan, and her MBA, with a specialization in international organizations, from the University of Geneva in Switzerland. She attended the WHO/FAO/World Bank/ OIE Strategy Meeting on Avian Influenza in Geneva in November 2005, the International Pledging Conference on Avian and Human Pandemic Influenza in Beijing in January 2006, The Lancet’s Asia Medical Forum on “Preparing for Pandemic Influenza” in Singapore in May 2006, served as the subject matter expert on pandemic influenza for the University of the District of Columbia on their Department of Homeland Security Competitive Training Grant, and conducted a poster session at the Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza Conference in Washington, DC in June 2008. She is currently the Program Director for Emergency Network Los Angeles (ENLA) which is a network of non-profit, community-based organizations, and faith-based organizations throughout Los Angeles County. Collectively, these organizations provide assistance to individuals, families, and special needs populations following emergencies and disasters.
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