Page 51 - BusinessWest July 10, 2023

honor) to engage local women leaders in supporting financial literacy and health initiatives for women and girls.
She retired from the United Way in 2017 but continued to work on passion projects, including the Indian Orchard Citizen’s Council, the Black Behavioral Health Network, and many others.
Over the years, she served in a number of regional, state, and national leadership roles with groups including the Springfield Regional Chamber,
the Springfield Library Foundation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston community advisory board, Springfield Technical Community College, and
as a founding member of the Healing Racism Institute of Pioneer Valley.
Beyond all these lines on a
“She understood her responsibility to mentor and nurture and create pathways for future leaders. She understood the need to give young Black individuals,
as well as seasoned individuals, an opportunity for growth. She knew she held a unique responsibility to make sure there were others in our community who followed us.”
résumé, Robinson is remembered
for her boundless passion for the region and especially its underserved, her sense of humor, as well as her willingness to donate her time, money, and leadership to innumerable causes and organizations in this region and well beyond. She is remembered as a dynamic, forward- thinking administrator who led by example and was able to inspire others.
“As an administrator, Dora Robinson was strategic, and to
me, that was one of her greatest strengths,” Caulton-Harris said.
“She looked at the lanes of her administration, of her leadership, and she was very strategic about who she interacted with and how she interacted.”
Elaborating, she said Robinson understood the role she played as a Black woman in leadership roles and embraced all that came with it.
“She understood her responsibility to mentor and nurture and create pathways for future leaders. She understood the need to give young
Black individuals, as well as seasoned individuals, an opportunity for
growth. She knew she held a unique responsibility to make sure there were others in our community who followed us.
“Dora had a spirit that could not be harnessed. She was an explosive force of love everywhere she went; everyone she interacted with felt that generosity of spirit,” Caulton-Harris continued.
“I think her legacy is one of warmth, almost like the warmth of the sun — her rays sort of permeated everything she interacted with.”
Johnson concurred, and said that, to him, Robinson was a more than leader
in the boardroom. She was a leader on the streets of Springfield — in his case, quite literally.
“I’m thankful and grateful for her,” he said. “She treated me like I was her son. She stayed with me for the past 30 years, and I stayed with her. And she’s still with me.”
Caulton-Harris agreed, and then spoke for everyone who knew Robinson when she said, “frankly, I’m not sure how I move forward without her. I’ll miss her.”
Lasting Legacy
As he talked about Robinson, her legacy, and her influence on him, Nate
Johnson said use of the past tense simply won’t cut it.
She remains a large and powerful force in his life and how he lives it, and always will be, he said, adding that the lessons she imparted, the example she set, and her directive to keep reaching higher and find new ways to make the most of his life, while also making a difference in the lives of others, will not only stay with him, but guide him for the rest of his life.
And there are countless people across the region who can, and do, say the same thing.
That’s the kind of impact reserved for superheroes. BW
PASSIONATE
THOUGHTFUL
EFFECTIVE
DEDICATED
PIONEERING
COMMITTED
SUPPORTIVE
DORA D. ROBINSON
Your legacy will live on, not only at United Way, but throughout the communities you’ve touched in so many ways.
POWERFUL
LISTENER
BusinessWest
<< WOMEN IN BUSINESS >>
JULY 10, 2023 51