Robin grew up in a rural farming community in northeastern Ohio and was raised by parents who both worked in the local public school system. She earned an undergraduate degree in Ohio and began volunteering in HIV-related services in the mid-1990s, at a time when effective treatments were just emerging and access remained limited. This early experience marked both her entry into the queer community and their introduction to the AIDS epidemic. That same year, Robin traveled to the East Coast to witness what became the final full public display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, an experience that left a lasting impact.
After college, Robin spent the next decade working in HIV services and harm-reduction efforts, supporting community-centered organizations that prioritized the leadership and lived experience of people living with HIV. She later earned a master’s degree in public health. Throughout her career, Robin has been shaped by work rooted in queer-led spaces and approaches that center community knowledge, and she has had the privilege of working as her full self from the perspective of a community member rather than solely as a service provider.
Robin lives in Alaska on unceded Dena’ina land and shares her home with her young son Isler, and a rescued pit bull named Helen. Isler is a dinosaur lover, autistic, kind, and knew all the words to Trixie Mattel’s cover of Video Games by the time he was three. Helen knows very little but tries her best. They do a lot of camping together and watch a lot of YouTube videos about extinct animals.
Favorite Quote: “No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.” Marsha P. Johnson
Favorite Place in the Northwest: Southeast Alaska