robbie rifka routenberg '05

robbie rifka routenberg (lowercase, they/them/theirs) ‘05  was named the College’s first chief diversity officer (CDO) in May of 2018 after serving in the same role as interim for a full year prior.

Prior to coming to Geneseo, robbie served as director and instructor of the Global Scholars Program at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. In this role, routenberg provided strategic vision and leadership to efforts focusing on social, academic, financial and emotional counsel to students from diverse backgrounds. They also developed courses to challenge students to critically explore issues of global relevance and injustices. Prior to the role as director, routenberg served as the program’s associate director and was responsible for programming oversight and student leadership training. In addition to the leadership of the Global Scholars Program, routenberg served as the Inclusive Pedagogies Committee Chair of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. 

robbie is founder and lead consultant for InciteChange! Consulting, L.L.C. They are frequently called upon to design and deliver training, workshops and keynote addresses on topics related to building organizational capacity for issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

routenberg earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in psychology and cognitive science from SUNY Geneseo. They hold a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Michigan.