A summer internship first whetted Weslie Robinson’s appetite to develop the research skills that have served her so well as Emory’s director of prospect research, working with major donors, for the past 31 years.
In 1978, Robinson 16L worked for Sugarloaf Regional Trails, a nonprofit historical preservation organization funded by the Maryland Historical Trust. After a full summer researching historical maps, plats and land records at the National Archives and local courthouses as well as assisting with recording oral histories, she was credited in the 1979 book “Black Historical Resources in Upper Western Montgomery County, Maryland.”
“George McDaniel, who led the project, was fascinating — so conversant with the area and its history and willing to set a young intern like me loose to do what amounted to very independent work,” says Robinson.
She grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the only child of a mathematician father who worked for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon. Her mother, who earned her PhD in English literature from George Washington University, was a professor of English and humanities who taught at Bowie State College and Howard University.
As Robinson would later learn, that area of Maryland also was formative for two of Emory’s presidents: William M. Chace and James W. Wagner. Chace attended the same high school as Robinson, while Wagner attended a rival school in the county.
Coming into her own
With aspirations of becoming a psychologist, Robinson earned a bachelor of science in psychology at Tufts University before accepting her first professional position — as a prospect analyst — at Catholic University of America in 1981.
A year later, Robinson began what would become a signature element of her career: demonstrating leadership in professional associations. She became director of the Resource Center at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), working with Virginia Carter Smith, founder and longtime editor of Currents magazine and considered a legend by many familiar with the organization.
“Ginny was a visionary and the heart of CASE. To me, she was a kind and fair mentor. At one point, she even sent a note to my parents, praising my work with her,” says Robinson.
Smith believed in the value of how-to articles, and together they produced the “CASE Currents Index 1975-1984: Your Guide by Author and Subject to 993 How-to Articles on 354 Major Advancement Topics.”
“Everyone was so collegial,” Robinson reflects. “When I look back at my records, I find expressions of gratitude as we worked through projects together, including from CASE presidents. It was not a lot of us doing the work, but we reached a lot of people.”
One valuable by-product of Robinson’s duties was that she produced CASE’s job postings. When a position opening arrived one day for director of development research at Barnard College, Robinson leapt at the opportunity.
“It was a great 18 months in New York,” says Robinson, who had many friends from her days at Tufts. “I initially lived in an illegal sublet on the Upper East Side — just a couple of blocks from Central Park. I also lived in Brooklyn and then White Plains, after I got married.”
Arriving — staying — and contributing at Emory
Helen McLaughlin, then associate vice president for development and development services, was Robinson’s first supervisor at Emory and says: “Her background, skills and intelligence made her a superior candidate for the position.”
For her part, Robinson was coming from a one-person shop and comments: “The opportunity to work with other researchers and acquire some of the necessary resources that can make a difference in our work was the impetus for me to explore this opportunity at Emory. And Helen was a guiding light for me.”
What exactly is entailed in doing quality major-donor prospect research? “Working closely with development officers, we think of ourselves as pairing Emory’s interests and needs with prospects to fund major projects. We also help donors reach their philanthropic goals, recognizing that it has to be fulfilling to them as well,” notes Robinson.
“We are wealth experts,” she continues. “We use company and business resources to identify property information, stock holdings, the hard assets that determine a person’s wealth and, from that, their giving capacity. We are always looking for that nugget of information that will help a gift officer build engagement with a donor and advance the relationship.”
C. J. Drymon previously served as Emory’s Annual Fund director and now is manager of prospect research at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation. “Weslie’s path represents a three-decade-long adventure of continuous learning and navigating advancements in the field of prospect research as the landscape has evolved,” Drymon observes.
“She has been a key player in helping gift officers be successful and the university raise billions of dollars. Weslie also leaves behind a generation of prospect research professionals, myself included, who are fueled by the same ambition and insatiable curiosity she has always embodied.”
Currently supervising a team of four, Robinson has cultivated growth for her staff and encouraged their areas of specialization. Her own expertise is with donors giving at the level of $5 million and above. She is the first to admit that it takes a bit of adjusting to “know so much about people you have never met.” Beyond researching the gift capacity of individuals, including alumni, her team also reports on corporations and foundations.
In 2022, Robinson completed a Leading with Equity course at Emory Continuing Education. Asked the impetus for this investment, Robinson says: “As a manager, I wanted to make sure that I was inclusive, fair and aware of biases, ensuring that that everyone felt equally involved and supported. Also, I had a special interest in equity, inclusion and belonging through my lived experiences as an older Black woman.”
Robinson’s impressive tenure of 31 years is not even the longest among her employees. “We bring really solid historical knowledge and continuity to our work, both about Emory and its prospects,” she says.
Building a broader network
Over the years, Robinson has served on the boards of APRA, the American Prospect Research Association; AFP, the Association of Fundraising Professionals; and CASE District III/Southeast.
A highlight of her work with AFP was serving as chair of the Committee for 2000 Georgia Philanthropist of the Year when Arthur and Stephanie Blank were the recipients.
“To Emory’s credit, we have been encouraged to be involved with these other professional organizations. We do a lot of comparison of best practices. Sharing tips about creating processes and reports, for example, has prevented us from reinventing the wheel,” she says.
A presenter at conferences, Robinson says that she leaves each one she attends “invigorated and having jotted down three things that could work for our organization.”
Adding two Emory graduates to the family
Robinson’s daughter, Erin 12Ox 14C, is a data management coordinator at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. According to Robinson, “Erin grew up on Emory’s campus, attending what is now the Clifton School, taking part in summer camp programs at the Carlos Museum and WoodPEC, going to concerts and festivals, and working on homework in my office.”
After graduating from Woodward Academy, Erin began her Emory education at Oxford College, went on to major in anthropology and human biology, and in her senior year met her future husband, Josh Cutler 14C 21MR.
In 2016, Robinson earned a juris master from Emory Law School. “Coming from a family where the importance of education was stressed and having access to such a special benefit, it was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up,” she says.
Robinson saw the program, now known as the Master of Legal Studies, as benefitting her Emory role — understanding indicators of wealth and how it is structured. In class with students her daughter’s age, Robinson was grateful that the professors appreciated the degree to which the students brought experiential learning.
One highlight of her time at the law school was attending a lecture by Lilly Ledbetter. At that lecture, she says, “I heard firsthand how one person’s activism led to a landmark federal statute, the first bill signed into law by President Barack Obama — The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.”
The next chapter of a full life
The degree has prepared Robinson well for what she calls her “encore career.” In early 2025, Robinson will work part-time in the Fulton County Magistrate Court as a landlord-tenant mediator. She laughs, realizing that this new pursuit might just be “a way of circling back to my psychology major, working with people to try to ensure positive outcomes.”
Between now and then, she has promised herself “a little grace” to pursue projects around the house and enjoy a new grandson, Samuel Wesley Cutler, the first for Robinson and her husband, Earl. She enjoys gardening and grows peppers that Earl uses for his patented pepper relish.
Travel is also on the horizon: an annual jazz cruise with family and friends in January and, come March, a trip to Asia.
In 2004, Robinson was honored with the Spirit of Emory Award, which results from peer nominations within the Division of Advancement and Alumni Engagement (AAE). Shomari White sees the award as “a testament to Weslie’s passion and impact on our community.”
White, the chief operating officer for operations and advancement strategy in AAE, further notes: “As we celebrate Weslie’s remarkable contributions and dedication to Emory, we express our deepest gratitude for her unwavering commitment and exceptional service. She has invested not only her career but also her heart in making Emory a better place for future generations.”
For Robinson, the scales are evenly set. As she observes, “I have given my best and gotten the best of Emory.”