Press Release
from Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Cambridge, MA – Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs has named General (ret.) Lori J. Robinson a non-resident Senior Fellow. After 37 years of military service, Gen. Robinson retired this year as Commander, United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. She is the first woman in U.S. history to lead a combatant command. At the Belfer Center, Robinson will share her insights on leadership, public service, and international security issues with faculty, staff, and students, including National Security Fellows.
“Lori embodies the very best of our nation’s armed forces,” said Belfer Center Director Ash Carter. “In 37 years of highly decorated service, she demonstrated over and over the power of public leadership to make a better world. All of us at the Center are honored to welcome such a distinguished combatant commander to advance our work on defense and national security issues, and in training the next generation to excel in these arenas.”
“I am excited to join this preeminent institution of impactful research,” said Robinson. “Helping young men and women serve the public with professionalism and purpose has been a core theme of my career, and I’m looking forward to continuing this work at Harvard.”
Prior to commanding USNORTHCOM, Robinson was Commander, Pacific Air Forces and Air Component Commander for U.S. Pacific Command at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Robinson also served as Legislative Liaison Director at Office of the Secretary of the Air Force; Deputy Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command; Deputy, Combined Force Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia; and Vice Commander, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.
Her earlier roles included service as an Air Force Fellow at The Brookings Institution, and as Director of the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Executive Action Group at the Pentagon. She has also been Deputy Director for Force Application and Support, Directorate of Force Structure, and Resources and Assessment, Joint Staff.
Robinson entered the Air Force in 1982 through the ROTC program at the University of New Hampshire. She led more than 2,000 Airmen flying the B-1 Lancer, KC-135 Stratotanker, and E-3 Sentry aircraft in operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.
Robinson earned a B.A. in English at the University of New Hampshire, Durham, along with a Master’s degree in national security and strategic studies at the Naval War College. She also graduated from the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard University.
Robinson has been awarded over eight service medals, including the Distinguished Service Medal. In 2016, she was named to Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people and was featured on the cover of Time in 2017. Robinson is married to retired Air Force Major Gen. David A. Robinson.
Contact: Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs: Sharon_Wilke@hks.harvard.edu | 617-495-9858.