Ms. Cynthia Robbins assumed the role of Executive Director of See Forever Foundation (SFF) and Maya Angelou Public Charter School (MAPCS) in July 2006 after serving as Managing Director of the linked organizations since 2004. The Mission of SFF/MAPCS is to create learning communities in lower income urban areas where all students, particularly those who have not succeeded in traditional high schools, can reach their potential. At Maya Angelou students develop the academic, social and employment skills that they need to succeed in college and other post-secondary study, build rewarding lives and promote positive change in their communities. Robbins works to create opportunities for all interested individuals and organizations to discover ways that they too could contribute to this mission and become involved with SFF/MAPCS. As Managing Director of SFF/MAPCS, Cynthia played a central role in leading the school through the process of securing its accreditation with Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools awarded in May 2006.

Ms. Robbins has more than 15 years of experience in direct service, advocacy and legal representation on behalf of low-income children and their families. Prior to joining See Forever and Maya Angelou in the spring of 2004, she most recently served as the Vice President of Development at Learn Now/Edison Schools. Ms Robbins' last legal job was directing the Urban Recovery Legal Assistance, a project of Public Counsel created in the wake of the 1992 Civil Unrest. There she managed an ever-changing and ever-growing staff and program of volunteers to handle more than 2000 cases in six languages, until she returned to DC in 1994. She also had a primary responsibility for securing the resources to operate that program from some of the largest foundations in the nation.

Ms. Robbins returned to DC from a stint in Los Angeles and managed the general grant program as Senior Program Officer at the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation. The foundation is a leader in the philanthropic community in the greater Washington DC region and gave away more than $8 million in her last year there. She has previously served as a civil rights and criminal defense attorney, adjunct professor of law, consultant and as a manager in nonprofits dedicated to advocacy, leadership support and organizational development.

She has consistently been a committed civic participant. She co-founded the East Palo Alto Community Law Project while a Stanford Law Student. Similarly, Robbins is the former chair the Board of Trustees for the Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia. She is also an active board member of the Maya Angelou Public Charter School, the Historic Lincoln Theatre on U Street, the People’s Congregational Church Council and Scholarship Committee, and DC Vote, an organization seeking voting representation in Congress for DC residents.

Ms. Robbins has a BA from Harvard University and a JD from Stanford Law School.