His passion: Health care for everyone.
The Cincinnati Enquirer | By: Jeff McKinney
Mike Robinson is a vocal proponent of racial equity in the health-care market.
Robinson, president and CEO of the multi-cultural marketing and research firm LaVerdad Marketing & Media in Montgomery, also is passionate about helping minorities get a high school and college education.
He knows first hand what it’s like not to have access to proper health care.
“I’m so adamant about it because it touches me personally,” Robinson, 46, says.
Robinson recalls many of his family members – including his father, uncles and grandparents – dying at an early age of diseases such as breast cancer and leukemia while he was growing up in a poor neighborhood in Maryvale, Ariz.
Since then, Robinson has made it his mission to help blacks, Latinos and other ethnic minorities gain greater access to health care, including preventive screenings and education.
In June, LaVerdad organized a group of local companies to provide a variety of health screenings such as checkups for blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes inside local Bigg’s stores, mainly targeting blacks and Latinos.
LaVERDAD, which this year provided marketing services to big brands that include Procter & Gamble’s Pantene, Downy and Mr. Clean products, also provides an annual $1,000 scholarship to local Hispanic college students.
Although his firm continues to rack up kudos from industry peers, Robinson is just as proud of his efforts to help Latinos and blacks get more access to health care services.
Last month, Robinson received the 2007 “Regional Hispanic Businessman” award for eight Midwestern states from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. LaVerdad was named a “Regional Supplier of the Year” by the National Minority Supplier Development Council.
But Robinson says the most important work LaVERDAD has done this year is help its health care clients – including Mercy Health Partners of Southwest Ohio and Santa Maria Community Services – do health screenings.
“We want to help clients create products that help improve the lives of ethnic consumers,” he says.