Dr. Jennifer Robinson is the chief of staff at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute and oversees the institute’s communications, human resources, and finances. She also directs the institute’s economics and policy team. In this role she oversees research projects with the goal of providing insightful information to community leaders. Notable projects include the widely praised annual Utah Informed Booklet, the Economic Report to the Governor, and the recent Diversity in Utah Databook. As director of the economics and policy team, Dr. Robinson also oversaw the COVID-19 research agenda.
She serves on the board for the Community Foundation of Utah, the University of Utah Veteran’s Day Committee, the Visit Salt Lake Board of Directors, the United Way of Salt Lake Policy Committee, and the Salt Lake Chamber’s Diversity Committee. In 2014, Governor Herbert appointed Dr. Robinson to the Utah Women in the Economy Commission, where she served until 2020.
Utah Business Magazine recognized her as one of 30 Women to Watch in 2017. In 2021, she received the Ethics in Education Award from the Daniel’s Fund and the Empathetic Global Leadership Award from the David Eccles School of Business.
Dr. Robinson is the co-author of two books, “Native Vote: American Indians, the Voting Rights Act, and the Right to Vote (Cambridge University Press, 2007) and “The Rise of the West in Presidential Elections” (University of Utah 2010), and numerous book chapters and journal articles on voting rights, legal issues in higher education, and public administration.
Dr. Robinson earned her B.S. in Political Science, Master of Public Administration, and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Utah, where she is an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department. In 2020, she completed the Economics for Business online program at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Prior to her work at the University of Utah Dr. Robinson worked for the Utah House of Representatives.