The City of Pensacola has selected Sydney Robinson to fill the newly created position of
Robinson most recently served as the Executive Director of Gallery Night Pensacola, where she worked closely with the city, vendors and sponsors to coordinate monthly events. With Gallery Night, Robinson helped develop the event to have a greater focus on art and culture, furthering inclusivity within the community. She has also volunteered with local events and organizations including Sunday’s Child, the Escambia County Human Relations Commission and the Vegfest Pensacola Festival.
Her first day with the City of Pensacola is Monday, July 11.
Robinson said she’s excited to join the city in this new role and help make Pensacola a better place while connecting other community organizations with their local government.
“This is not the first time I’ve been in a role where I’m building something from the ground up,” Robinson said. “So I’m really excited to see what this position becomes and what value we can bring to the City of Pensacola through events and cultural programs, working with our already vibrant art and culture scene in Pensacola and just helping to align those organizations with the city.”
A Northwest Florida native, Robinson graduated from the University of West Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature coupled with a minor in Women and Gender Studies. Robinson said she hopes to use her new position to highlight the many great attributes Pensacola has to offer to both locals and visitors.
“There is so much that makes Pensacola special, and it’s our job to protect those things, highlight them and make sure that people who are visiting and people all over the country know the uniqueness of Pensacola,” Robinson said. “We’re not just a beach – Pensacola has so much to see and do, and the people who live here also deserve to benefit from all the things that we are and that we can be.”
Robinson’s previous experience includes working as a Litigation Assistant at Levin Papantonio Rafferty Law Firm in Pensacola, which involved extensive research on a variety of high-profile legal cases. She has also served as a freelance reporter for Inweekly since November 2018, working with diverse sources to write local interest pieces concerning the Pensacola community and Northwest Florida.
As Cultural Affairs Coordinator for the city, Robinson will be responsible for assessing community needs for cultural programs using the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, collaborating with various community organizations to address the current needs of the city. She will also serve as a liaison with the Cultural Affairs Commission and Art, Culture, and Entertainment, Inc., among other similar city-sponsored cultural organizations. Robinson will work under the direction of Development Services Director Sherry Morris.
“I’m excited to have this new position to help ensure that our city’s rich diversity and culture is represented in our events and programs in the City of Pensacola,” Mayor Grover Robinson said. “Sydney has demonstrated great leadership and initiative through the success and growth of Gallery Night over the past several years, and I look forward to seeing what she accomplishes for the Pensacola community in this new role.”