NICOLE
ROBINSON-ETIENNE
VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY LIVING
Nicole Robinson-Etienne is the Vice President of Community and Government Affairs for the Institute for Community
Living. She is considered an accomplished, versatile public relations professional with a stellar career history of
leadership, advocacy, community engagement and development of public-private partnerships. A focused, driven
leader, problem solver, and persuasive negotiator, Robinson-Etienne has demonstrated success propelling initiatives
leading to substantial program support funding, constructive coalitions and alliances, and zoning changes.
Robinson-Etienne began her professional career as an immigration attorney in a small law practice working on
asylum and family unification cases. Realizing her passion for public service, she later went on to work in various roles
in government and non-profit sectors, including Special Counsel to former Assemblywoman Rhoda S. Jacobs, Senior
Project Manager at the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Assistant Director of Government and
Community Affairs at the New York Aquarium and Prospect Park Zoo.
In 2017, she joined Institute for Community Living (ICL), one of NYC’s largest human services agencies, as Vice
President of Community and Government Affairs and Director of the Clergy, Clinician, Community Collaboration (4C)
for Mental Health Awareness designed to address and mitigate the stigma of mental health in communities of color.
A first-generation Caribbean-American of Vincentian descent, born and raised in Brooklyn, Robinson-Etienne
graduated with a BA from Fordham University, a JD from Northeastern University School of Law, and is an alumna
of the Coro Leadership NY 25 program. Her parents, Naomi and George Robinson, are from St. Vincent and the
Grenadines. Her mother was a nurse at Kingstown General Hospital, (now Milton Cato General Hospital) and her
father was a Corporal at the Royal St. Vincent Police Force before immigrating to America in 1970. Robinson-Etienne
has been residing in Brooklyn with her husband Emmanuel and 2 daughters, Arielle and Dominique. She has been
volunteering as a Girl Scout leader and Board Member of Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island and
East Flatbush Village.