Barbara L. Smithers Robison

914-263-0558

475-328-9335

After graduating from law school, moved to New York City in the Summer of Sam while the Bronx was burning, living for years in a brownstone on the Upper West Side before it was gentrified and before the reign of Mayor Giuliani. Started work in a big New York law firm, worked typical sweatshop hours but somehow had lots of fun, moving eventually to in-house practice. Had two sons while working full-time (thanks to a husband who wasn't afraid of diapers or sleep deprivation and who shared all the work), then took off time in 1989 to be a stay-at-home Mom and had our third child, a girl, in 1990. Staying at home had some advantages- easier to schedule vacations and we could travel extensively, including some beautiful summers in Provence, where I learned that having a husband who spent years growing up in a small village near Nice was far better than my 4 years of high school French in terms of getting around and chatting. After several years at home, and countless volunteer activities, plus developing a serious aerobics addiction, returned to the full-time practice of law in 1997. Since 2010, two of our children married and one is now engaged. Grandson born in July 2020. In 2015, my husband and I moved from Scarsdale, NY where we raised our family, while commuting into NYC, to coastal Connecticut. In 2018, I left my full-time position with a publicly-traded company to consult independently on corporate governance and disclosure matters. Now I find myself primarily working as the stand-in childcare provider when 2 year-old grandson can’t go to daycare, and my consulting seems focused on all-things toddler, so basically not too much different than working with many C-suite types. Rob and I just celebrated the 46th anniversary of our first date on October 2, and soon, 44 years of marriage. Glad that he is as hands-on with our grandson as he was with our children.

Advanced Dance Class;
Performing in various dance and theater productions;
Purple Haze in the cafeteria;
Mrs. Romani, in freshman English class, reading the opening verses of The Odyssey to us in Greek;
Dr. Johnston taking our history class out for a spin in his Rolls Royce (what was up with that?)

Joseph Sears School

NTE

Northwestern University, BA 1974
University of Chicago Law School, JD 1977