Emerson Foundation names new board president

AUBURN — The Fred L. Emerson Foundation board of directors has elected Lori E. Robinson to serve as the ninth president of the foundation. Robinson is the great-granddaughter of Fred L. Emerson, the foundation’s founder. Born and raised in Auburn, Robinson has served as a director of the foundation since 1992. She is a graduate of Hamilton College and resides in Greenwich, Connecticut with her husband and two children. Robinson succeeds Kristen E. Rubacka who served as president of the Emerson Foundation since 2018. Rubacka will continue to serve on the foundation’s board of directors. “The Emerson Foundation’s mission is to continue the work of Fred L. Emerson by being especially vigilant investors in selected organizations where we believe we can make a critical and significant difference. Our work today is more important than ever,” Robinson said in a news release. “It is an honor to lead our family foundation and I look forward to working with the board and staff to continue to serve the needs of the community about which Fred cared so deeply.” The Emerson Foundation also announced that the board has elected the following individuals to leadership roles with the foundation board: Alex Kinal Wagner as VP, Heather A. Emerson as treasurer, and Sally E. Wagner as secretary. The Fred L. Emerson Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1932 by its namesake. The foundation provides funding to numerous community and charitable organizations in Auburn and surrounding Central New York area, where Fred L. Emerson lived and worked.