In this episode, our guest Lori Robinson and I explore how sensitivity, spirituality, and lived experience shaped her journey from journalism to founding VidaAfrolatina, an international women’s fund supporting Black and Afro-descendant women-led organizations across Latin America.

Lori explains how participatory grantmaking transfers decision-making power to communities traditionally excluded from philanthropy, and she shares how surviving sexual assault led to decades of work addressing violence against Black women. Throughout our conversation, Lori offers a powerful perspective on using money in ways that are restorative, reparative, and rooted in the wisdom of directly affected communities.

• Creating VidaAfrolatina and resourcing Black women's leadership
• Addressing sexual violence through healing and institutional support
• How participatory grantmaking redistributes decision-making power
• Moving philanthropy beyond colonial models
• "Same boat, different port": solidarity across the African diaspora
• Why frontline communities must shape climate solutions
• Protecting empathy from overwhelm and burnout
• Choosing meaningful work when salary is not the priority
• Spirituality, healing, and trust during financial uncertainty

Lori Robinson is the Founder and Executive Director of VidaAfrolatina, an emerging international women’s fund that mobilizes resources for Black women-led and Afro-descendant women-led organizations in Latin America. Through participatory grantmaking, VidaAfrolatina supports culturally relevant healing services, organizational development, and community-led initiatives designed to reduce and ultimately eliminate sexual violence. Lori also serves on the Board of Directors of Women’s Funding Network.

Before launching VidaAfrolatina, Lori worked as a journalist for 25 years, reporting extensively on sexual violence and Black communities throughout Latin America. In 1997, Emerge magazine published her award-winning cover story, “I Was Raped: A Survivor Explores an Accusation that has Divided the Spelman and Morehouse Family.” She later wrote I Will Survive: The African-American Guide to Healing from Sexual Assault and Abuse. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, The Progressive, The Root, and other national media outlets.

In 2018, Lori was selected from more than 2,800 applicants across 155 countries as one of 35 Echoing Green Fellows, helping her develop and launch VidaAfrolatina. A bilingual speaker in English and Spanish, she has presented on sexual violence in more than 20 U.S. states and in Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Venezuela. Lori holds bachelor’s degrees in English and Spanish from Spelman College and a master’s degree in journalism from New York University.

Website LinkedIn Instagram I Will Survive: The African-American Guide to Healing from Sexual Assault and Abuse by Lori Robinson Dahlma Llanos Figueroa, Afro Puerto Rican writer

#LoriRobinson #VidaAfrolatina #ParticipatoryGrantmaking #BlackWomenLeaders #AfroLatina #SexualViolencePrevention #SocialJustice #HealingJustice #EthicalPhilanthropy #AfricanDiaspora

Click here to watch our interview on Youtube

Diana Gisel Yañez is an Investment Advisor Representative of Natural Investments PBLLC. Natural Investments is an independent Registered Investment Advisor. All the Colors is not a registered entity and is not an affiliate or subsidiary of Natural Investments. See our Disclosures and Disclaimers and read our Form CRS.