D’RITA ROBINSON

“Every morning, before I get out of bed, I offer myself grace. For me, grace is a spiritual gift that involves love and mercy. Grace is unearned. It is a gift given by God. A gift we must pass along to others. A gift we cannot forget to give ourselves.”

– DR

D’Rita began her career after graduating from Spelman College as a Chemist. After the birth of her daughter, she made the decision to leave the corporate sector and dedicate time to her growing family and entrepreneurial spirit. She is a serial entrepreneur who is constantly redefining her path and journey. Her very first endeavor was a wedding and event planning company. Based on learnings from that experience, she developed an app called Chatty Guest which was built to be an engagement tool for event hosts and their guests. The app got off to a fast start and was used in more than 51 countries before Robinson elected to pivot to her growing civic priorities and responsibilities. Recently, she co-founded a strategic growth investment firm with her husband. 

Robinson is an avid supporter of Spelman College and is responsible for the creation of the Annie Bell Huger Scholarship and the D’Rita Robinson Finish Line Scholarship. Since inception, several hundred Spelman students have directly benefited from these scholarship programs.  

D’Rita’s civic energy and resources have also been dedicated to the arts, first generation college students, social justice, and science. She has served as a Board of Trustee member for Spelman College and many non-profit organizations like Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Project&, and Institute For Non-Violence Chicago. Currently, she serves on the Board of Trustees for the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

“You aren’t defined by what you have or don’t have, but how you see and treat others.” D’Rita lives by this maxim, and in addition to her many accomplishments, the role of Mom is the most central to her life. She is a highly private individual who puts family before all else. She leads by example, as service is not only an important aspect of her life, it is paramount to the ethics she instills in her children. One of her favorite quotes to recite to her children is by Marian Wright Edelman: “Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.”