Robin Winston

Principal

robin@winstonterrell.com

An accomplished business leader, consensus-builder and government relations professional, Robin Winston has devoted his career to providing timely and savvy public outreach, communications, strategic, finance, management, marketing, and political advice to his colleagues and clients. In 1999, he made history when he became the first Black to chair a major political party in Indiana.

A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Winston moved to Kentucky to pursue his education and start a career in business, government, and politics. He is a graduate of the University of Louisville, where he was elected president of the student body.

Mr. Winston served as assistant director of St. Benedict's Center for Early Childhood Education, a United Way-funded not-for-profit located in Louisville. Mr. Winston improved service to Louisville's minority community by more than doubling enrollment and establishing programs to certify all staff in early childhood development. After inheriting a financial deficit, he left the center with a substantial surplus which was the impetus for building a new $2.5M early childhood education center.

Also, in Louisville, Mr. Winston served as a chief of staff at the city's legislative body, the Board of Aldermen. He conducted budget reviews, helped draft legislation, handled constituent requests, assisted with public relations and community outreach for the board and won two national awards for cost-saving innovations. Mr. Winston also operated a political consulting firm and served as general consultant to successful campaigns for city council, county commissioner, county prosecutor, state attorney general, and congress.

Moving to Indianapolis in 1993, Mr. Winston became a community development specialist in the Indiana Department of Commerce. He served as then-Lieutenant Governor Frank O'Bannon's representative to communities across Indiana. While serving in the Commerce Department, Mr. Winston directed $11 million in grants to communities to improve infrastructure, housing, municipal facilities, and preserve historic buildings.

Mr. Winston then accepted Lieutenant Governor O'Bannon's invitation to join his personal staff as a special assistant. In that capacity, Mr. Winston served as the lieutenant governor's liaison to several economic development agencies including the Indiana Housing Finance Authority, the Small Business Development Corp., the Minority Business Development Commission, and the Community Development Division of the state Commerce Department. Mr. Winston focused on enhancing community outreach for the agencies and served as a principal advisor to then Lieutenant Governor O'Bannon.

Mr. Winston left public employment in 1996 and became deputy director of O'Bannon's successful campaign to be elected governor. Following the election, Mr. Winston became political director of the Indiana Democratic Party. He became Chairperson in 1999 at the request of Governor O'Bannon and United States Senator Evan Bayh.

Now a successful businessperson in Indianapolis, he runs one of the largest minority-owned government affairs, community relations and public outreach firms in the nation. The Winston/Terrell Group has successfully represented clients in various areas. With affiliate offices in nineteen (19) communities, Winston's firm continues to expand its capabilities to serve diverse clients.

Public outreach, community relations and government affairs reinforce his commitment to diversity. He has led the effort for inclusion of minority-owned firms on federal, state, and local projects. Using personal funds, Winston founded a scholarship program for students who will attend college.

In 2016, he joined others to form ProgressiveThoughtMatters, a non-profit organization devoted to increasing the participation of minority and progressive voters in the political process. The result has been major increases in Black voter participation, voter registration and voter contact. ProgressiveThoughtMatters will continue to be active politically and will help lead expansion of voter participation for previously underrepresented constituencies.

Mr. Winston remains committed to making a difference. He is a life member of the NAACP, a member of the Indiana State Museum Board of Directors and served as Capital Campaign Chair of the $3.1M Levi Coffin Center Interpretive project which houses the Robin Winston Reading Room. To preserve the legacy of Blacks in Indiana, he helped fund a $100,000 initiative by the Indiana Historical Society to support Black history projects. He also served as the Executive Producer for "Indiana Trailblazers", an Emmy-nominated documentary about the history of civil rights in Indiana produced for PBS.

He has been selected as Entrepreneur of the Year by the Center for Leadership Development, received the Madame C.J. Walker Award for Leadership, has been recognized as Emerging Business Owner of the Year by the Indiana Black Chamber of Commerce, was honored as Man of the Year by the Circle City Chapter of the Links, Inc, was recognized as the Walter and Alpha Blackburn Man of Substance Award and received recognition by the Indianapolis Black Chamber of Commerce. In his native Pennsylvania, he has been inducted into his high school’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame and has funded the Winston Literacy Center and the construction of the graduation stage at his high school. He was recently selected for the Chairman’s Award by the Indiana Civil Rights Commission.

In addition, Winston is a political analyst for the Indianapolis affiliate of Fox and CBS and is a frequent guest on Inside Indiana Business. He has appeared as a political commentator on CBS, NBC and NPR and has been quoted in numerous national and state publications. He was also selected as a member of the Presidential Electoral College. Robin was selected as a member of the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) Rules Committee for the Democratic National Convention.

His motto of “The politics of exclusion lead to the politics of defeat” reinforces his commitment to inclusion.