Moapa Valley Progress Newspaper

Home

News

Sports

Opinion

Upcoming Events

Logandale Woman Receives Business Distinction

	Hilarie Robison was recognized in the 40 Over 40 list in the regional publication, In Business Las Vegas	By Vernon Robison Moapa Valley Progress Logandale resident, Hilarie Robison, was recognized by business publication, In Business, Las Vegas as one of the magazine’s ‘40 Under 40’ recipients for the year 2007. On February 29, the publication released its annual supplement entitled ‘40 Under 40’. According to the section’s editor, Rob Langrell, this special supplement recognizes young Las Vegas area business leaders who have distinguished themselves, not only in their professions, but also in the community. The annual ‘40 Under 40’ list is in its eighth year. Nominations for candidates are made to the magazine by readers. This year over 300 nominations were received,
	Langrell said. A panel of four judges then review the candidates using criteria of community service, entrepreneurial spirit and impact on respective industries. Robison serves as the Executive Director for the Nevada Public Education Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit organization which administers the Ready for Life movement, a collaboration of more than a dozen youth-serving agencies to improve Nevada’s high school graduation rates. Robison said that she was surprised and shocked at her inclusion on the ‘40 Under 40’ list. “I didn’t even know that I had been nominated,” Robison said. “I didn’t really feel like I fit in that category.” Because her efforts are in the non-profit realm, her initial work is not really directly in the business community, she explained. “I’m not really a typical business-person,” she said. “It’s just not really how I identify myself.” Robison said that she identifies herself more in terms of her primary family roles as a wife and mother. She is married to Ben Robison, has a three year old son, Ryan and is expecting another child in July. Robison came to the Nevada Public Education Foundation in 2004. At that time, she says, the Foundation presented her with something of a blank slate. “There were so many needs in the area of education,” she said. “We had to take a look and do some research on just what we should be doing and how we could make the most impact.” One area that their research found was the high rates of high school dropouts in the state and the lack of transition for many students from high school to the life beyond. Robison called it a silent epidemic of people who either dropped out of high school or had difficulty in the transition “There has been a lot of focus placed on this since then, but back when we started there was really no one else working on it,” Robison said. With Robison at the helm, the Foundation developed the Ready for Life movement. This movement works to bring public and private organizations together to help young people succeed. “We work with school districts, schools, mentoring organizations and other non-profits to talk about ways that they can collaborate in efforts to make sure that young people aren’t falling through the cracks,” Robison said. Robison states that social service groups often need to be included when focusing on educational goals. “Usually if a kid is struggling in school, there is something in his/her life that is behind that poor performance,” she said. The foundation works to bring social resources in coordination with the educators to try to provide what they can’t provide. Robisons efforts in the Ready for Life program are what turned the heads of the In Business Las Vegas judges in the selection process. The programs that Robison coordinates have snowballed and have become a state-wide effort. But Robison is excited about the work and flattered by the recognition. “It definitely keeps me busy,” she said. “Sometimes too busy. I feel very lucky to be involved in such good work.”