AJ Robinson

Dr. Robinson is the Founder and CEO of Symphonic Strategies. He holds a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University and dual bachelor’s degrees in social psychology and political science from Stanford University. While at Stanford, he co-founded a successful student-led, non-profit organization that provided academic and economic enrichment for at-risk youth in the Bay Area. At Harvard, Dr. Robinson specialized in comparative political and economic development and was involved in numerous research projects at the Harvard Institute for International Development, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the Department of Afro-American Studies.

Dr. Robinson has been a consultant to the PBS show Frontline, served as a staff writer on the Encarta Africana Encyclopedia of the Black Diaspora, and was an adjunct professor in the Department of Organizational Sciences at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He was part of a delegation of scholars that toured South Africa immediately after the end of apartheid.

Dr. Robinson spent a number of years working for a leading international business strategy firm. He has delivered keynote remarks and led organizational strategy seminars to C-level audiences (CEO, CMO, CTO, etc.) in more than 150 organizations in over a dozen countries throughout Europe and North America.   

Rounding out his professional experience, Dr. Robinson then became the chief of strategic planning and organizational development at a prominent, national nonprofit organization. While in this position he designed and led a social marketing campaign that involved the use of innovative qualitative research and strategic communications tools. He focused on surveys, polls and focus groups that dealt with issues of race, poverty, and social justice. Dr. Robinson spent a considerable amount of time studying and understanding the needs, preferences and values of communities of color.