Robby Rodriguez

Robby is a Mertz Gilmore Foundation fellow and philanthropy advisor. He started his career as a community organizer, working for workers’ and voting rights, youth development, corporate accountability, environmental justice, and immigrant & Indigenous rights. During his six years as the Executive Director of the Albuquerque based SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP), Robby helped the organization achieve key policy changes related to economic development and environmental protection at the state and local level. During this time, he co- authored a book with Frances Kunruether and Helen Kim on generational change in the non-profit sector titled Working Across Generations: Defining The Future of Non Profit Leadership (Jossey Bass, 2008).

Robby has also been a part of national and international social movements linked to ending racism and economic inequality. He represented the United States at the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa where he documented and testified on issues of environmental racism in the United States and abroad, and he served on the national planning committee for the United States Social Forums held in Atlanta and Detroit. For the last fifteen years, Robby has directly helped steward over $250 million philanthropic dollars at two of the largest foundations in the U.S., and most recently as Executive Director of a family foundation. Robby holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of New Mexico, and serves as a trustee for Greenpeace International, and is a board member of New Mexico Voices for Children.