Meet David Robinson

David’s roots in Oregon go deep. His mother’s family has resided in Portland and throughout Oregon for several generations; St Michael’s church in Little Italy was the center of their community. His great aunts, uncles, grandfather and great grandfather have worked for lumber mills, the City of Portland, and the State. David came to Oregon during his active duty Navy service when he was assigned to Oregon State University to complete a Master of Science in 1999, and he has considered Oregon his home ever since.

David spent his formative years in Colorado where he developed his affinity for the outdoors. He spent many family vacations traveling the country including visiting relatives in Oregon. After graduating from Chatsworth High School in Los Angeles, he felt a strong desire to be part of something bigger than himself and a desire to serve. He enlisted in the Marine Corps. Excelling as a Marine, he was appointed to the United States Naval Academy.

David graduated from the Naval Academy in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering. Like all graduates, he received an in-depth education in world affairs and strong leadership development. His first assignment following his commissioning into the Navy’s Civil Engineering Corps took him to Iceland where he managed large construction projects at Navy and Air Force installations.

David’s next posting was to Ascension Island, a British territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. The island’s very diverse multinational workforce piqued David’s curiosity and began his study of issues and cultures of South America and Africa. In his next assignment with the Navy’s Construction Battalions (Seabees), David furthered his education about the world with extensive deployments in Puerto Rico, Japan, and to Haiti as part of Operation Uphold Democracy. This experience in providing humanitarian assistance in the world’s distressed regions was life-changing for David.

In 1998, while assigned as the assistant for public works at the Navy’s postgraduate school in Monterey, CA, David coordinated the Navy’s support for the National Ocean Conference convened by President Bill Clinton and chaired by Vice President Al Gore. The conference was a resounding success, developing and directing the implementation of 150 actions to protect, restore, and explore America’s ocean resources. Seeing politicians lead the group to a proper understanding of the issues and solutions to fix them inspired David’s desire to serve in elected office.

While David was a graduate student at Oregon State University in Corvallis, he was engaged in his studies for a very demanding curriculum. David did find time to travel throughout the state to learn about the history, people and issues of the state. He rock-climbed, skied, and snowboarded on our mountains, fished in our rivers, ran the Hood-to-Coast relay, and participated in triathlons statewide, including at Hagg Lake. Oregon had become his true home, and David purchased a house in Corvallis to ensure he’d have a place to come back to when his Navy travels were complete.

After graduating from OSU, David was assigned to the home of Navy diving in Panama City, Florida. While there he led the planning and execution of numerous important construction and research projects and earned his qualifications as a Navy diving officer. David led the Navy’s Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation consultations with numerous Native American tribes, successfully concluding agreements to ensure that remains were returned to their native grounds. While assigned to Panama City, David completed his first Ironman Triathlon.

David left Florida for the military installations in the Southern California/San Diego area, where he oversaw a workforce of more than 250 hard-working civil servants and managed a budget of more than $250 million. David’s primary job was to ensure the nation’s ships and planes were able to deploy for worldwide missions. David completed military deployments to conflict areas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. As Director of Civil-Military Operations for Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, he directed the US Government’s Humanitarian Assistance program in Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen, and other countries in the region. The Horn of Africa was opened as the second front in the war on terror after Afghanistan because of the region’s role in the illicit transportation of terrorists and weapons and because the extreme poverty there makes it a fertile recruiting ground for terrorists. Working and negotiating with governments, embassies, and non-governmental organizations, David initiated numerous projects. These projects included drilling new water wells, building schools and medical clinics, and providing medical, dental, veterinary and disaster assistance to the distressed and impoverished people throughout the region.

For his last active duty assignment, David returned to the Naval Academy for one of his most important military missions: helping to shape and mold the youth of our nation to be the next generation of Naval officers. At the academy David taught courses in leadership, naval architecture, ocean engineering and advanced modern history at the academy.

Now a commander in the Navy Reserves, David continues to contribute to our nation’s security and Oregon’s welfare by leading Oregon’s Reserve sailors as they prepare for missions all over the world. He is a department director at a local government and is also a co-founder and part owner of an international business development company that helps small companies in distressed regions of the world to increase their business capacity. He has completed the Navy’s Advanced Management Program for senior leaders.

In addition to earning his Masters degree from OSU, David attended Willamette University Atkinson Graduate School of Business.

David is married to Sandy Webb, an attorney and local business owner. They are active in numerous charities, non-profits and local politics. David and Sandy live in Aloha with their two chocolate Labrador Retrievers.