Robin B. Martin
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, Retired Trustee

TERM AS TRUSTEE:
June 2009 through March 2019

BIOGRAPHY:
Robin B. Martin was an executive in the broadcasting industry who provided wide-ranging support to cultural and educational organizations. He was the former president and chief executive officer of the Deer River Group, an acquisition and financial consulting firm and owner of commercial radio and television stations and cell telephone towers. During his career, he held a number of executive positions in a publicly traded group broadcasting and retailing enterprise and was special assistant to the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. Mr. Martin also served as a staff assistant to President Gerald Ford from 1974 to 1976.

Mr. Martin earned his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1971, and a master’s in communication in 1972, and received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from The Corcoran School of Art in 1995. An active Rensselaer volunteer, he was the recipient of the Rensselaer Alumni Association’s Alumni Key Award in 1981, the Albert Fox Demers Medal in 1989, and the Fellows Award in 1990.

Active in consumer, community, and broadcasting organizations, Mr. Martin authored or co-authored numerous publications on the broadcasting industry, and held a commercial pilot license. He served as vice chairman of the board of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and chairman of the board of trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He was a member of the District of Columbia Board of Education and chairman of the board of directors of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority. He also served on the boards of the Washington Hospital Center, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and trustee emeritus of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Board of Trustees.

Trustee Robin B. Martin passed away on March 21, 2019 at the age of 70. He is survived by his wife and three children.
 

President Gerald R. Ford and Staff Assistant Robin B. Martin in the Oval Office on February 26, 1976. (Photo Courtesy of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library)

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