Emma Robbins joins Planet Women as Managing Director
Planet Women is thrilled to announce that Emma Robbins is joining our team as Managing Director starting on July 17, 2023. This is a new role for Planet Women and Chief Executive Officer Kristine Zeigler is delighted to have Emma join her in leading our start-up nonprofit into its next phase.
Emma is a powerful advocate for Indigenous causes, a talented artist and communicator, and a seasoned community organizer. Most recently, Emma served as Executive Director for Navajo Water Project at DigDeep Water. As Managing Director, Emma will be responsible for caring for Planet Women’s growing team and overseeing operations, marketing, fundraising and programs.
About joining Planet Women, Emma says:
“One of my favorite things is working with Indigenous women and femme-identifying people and our allies to identify and solve issues affecting our communities in collaborative, respectful, and culturally inclusive ways—something Planet Women has been doing from the very beginning. When I first started collaborating with the Planet Women several years ago through The Chapter House and DigDeep, I knew that I wanted to be part of their work in some way and am so happy and honored to be able to join the team.”
Emma Robbins, Planet Women’s (first) Managing Director. © Emma Robbins.
You might recognize Emma’s name from Planet Women events and reports! She is one of our collaborators in the Colorado River Basin, where Planet Women partners with women leaders to support the resilience of local communities, protect rivers and restore habitat. Over the last few years, Emma has been an invaluable thought partner and collaborator in the Colorado River Basin and beyond, so we are extra thrilled to welcome her onto the Planet Women team as a senior leader!
Meet Emma Robbins
Emma, Diné, grew up on the Navajo Nation, splitting her time between Cameron and Tuba City. Cameron is a small and rural community, where many residents do not have access to clean, running water and are surrounded by abandoned uranium mines. Tuba City, only 30 miles away, is the largest community on the reservation, and is very different from places like Cameron. Experiencing both of these worlds, Emma knew from a very young age that she wanted to work with her community to ensure that people, especially elders, had access to basic human rights, like clean running water.
Over the years, Emma did this work while combining her background and experiences in the arts and community organization to make sure that these projects were not only consentful, but collaborative, and braided Navajo culture into their creation and implementation. Many of Emma’s most important teachers and influences were the Diné women in her community taking charge.
In 2016, Emma became the third employee at DigDeep Water and the first employee to work on DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project. As Executive Director of the Navajo Water Project, she collaborated with communities to expand access to clean running water for the one in three Navajo families living without it. The Navajo Water Project thrived under Emma’s leadership, growing into 40 staff working across the Navajo Nation in the Southwest. During this time DigDeep also expanded to other parts of the U.S., like Appalachia and Las Colonias along the Texas-Mexico border.
Emma was Executive Director of the Navajo Water Project, growing the team to 40 people. © Emma Robbins.
When asked about her proudest moment from her time with Navajo Water Project, Emma has two.
“One of my proudest accomplishments ever was working with the school SMASE (St. Michaels Association for Special Education) on the Navajo Nation. The project was a big undertaking, and involved replacing old plumbing in 20 buildings and installing new water filtration systems, fixtures, and water heaters to ensure that the students and residents had safe, clean running water. Prior to this, the school had to purchase bottled water and haul water to the school, which was not an easy task. It wasn’t just about doing the water work, it was also about building a strong relationship over the years with SMASE, and during that time I participated in special events like Dr. Seuss Day, spoke at their graduation ceremony, and helped curate a major exhibition of SMASE artists’ painting at a museum in Chicago. I loved all of it. Additionally, I was very proud of my team at the Navajo Water Project transitioning literally overnight to do emergency relief work when the pandemic broke out. The Navajo Nation had one the highest infection rates, and our people experienced devastating losses. Much of this was attributed to the fact that Diné residents were unable to shelter in place because of needing to haul and purchase water, and because of the water deliveries we did to thousands of people, we were able to help protect people and save lives.”Emma is a trained artist who has exhibited both in the U.S. and internationally. Through her artwork, she strives to educate viewers about issues like broken treaties and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis. In 2020, Emma co-founded The Chapter House, which provides a space for Indigenous Peoples and allies to appreciate art, convene and collaborate, celebrate individual and shared Indigenous cultures, and explore the complexities of the 21st century Indigenous experience.
Some of Emma’s artwork. Left: Mia + Family, 2019 - 2020 from 5,712. Right: Blue Bird Wind Mill, 2020 | Blue Bird Flour bag, brass cones, horse hair. © Emma Robbins.
The Chapter House is based on Tongva Land (so-called Los Angeles) and has both virtual and IRL offerings, including artist lectures, poetry nights, concerts, film screenings, weaving demonstrations, community arts nights, and an online art exhibitions. Check out this amazing recap of their REZidency, their first ever in-person gathering in 2021 that included wellness and empowerment workshops, weaving and beading workshops, live music and poetry performances, and plenty of piccadillies. In her free time, Emma will continue to remain active with The Chapter House.
© Emma Robbins.
Emma is based in Echo Park on Tongvaland where she lives with her husband, her daughter, and her pups Cindy Sherman and Littlewater. She enjoys traveling, taking long walks with her family throughout the LA area, sipping coffee on patios, sewing and making art, and lying out in the sun.
Welcome, Emma!