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Her background as a performing artist shapes her approach to facilitation and teaching, in which creative expression, deep listening, and somatic approaches play a powerful role in relationship-building and transformational learning. Having lived in several countries, she is interested in how dialogue can foster connections and bridge cultural differences. Robin frequently collaborates with teams and individuals to build projects that intertwine knowledge and action, integrating diverse ways of knowing so that human and more-than-human communities can flourish. As part of the Mitigating Wildfire Initiative at the Centre for Dialogue, she facilitates conversations throughout Canada that bring together Indigenous fire keepers, researchers, firefighters, forest professionals, and community leaders to co-develop solutions for wildfire co-existence.

Robin holds a Doctor of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where her research explored democratic and equitable approaches to adult learning. Her publications examine the ethics of collaboration, women and mothering in academia, and the complexities of community-building through shared artistic practices.

In addition to her role at the Centre for Dialogue, Robin teaches GRAD 720: Methods in Dialogue, Facilitation, and Conflict Engagement at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV and is an Adjunct Faculty Member at Teachers College, Columbia University.

What is your role at the Centre for Dialogue?

I am collaborating with fire practitioners, Indigenous partners, researchers, community leaders, and industry stakeholders across British Columbia to develop networks for sharing knowledge and developing innovative solutions to strengthen communities and build landscape resilience.

What does dialogue mean to you?

As a musician who loves to sing with others, I think about the practice of dialogue through the lens of group music-making. Both require the ability to listen deeply to others and to respond skillfully in the moment to what we hear. In dialogue, as in music, we try to find a way to weave multiple voices together, and to be vulnerable and take risks. There’s a kinetic energy and a sense of flow when we do it well. In the end, we can find ourselves—and hopefully our communities—changed by the process.

What is a common assumption you'd like to demystify?

I’m not sure if this is a common assumption, but something I’ve learned about dialogue, especially as a parent and a teacher, is the need to listen beyond the words someone is saying and tune in to the emotions they’re expressing. Listening, and not merely hearing, can be healing. And I think I’ve found that creating an atmosphere for that kind of deep listening is as much an art as it is a practice.