Shanell Robinson serves as president of the Pan-Hellenic Council of Greater New York and oversees the 47 chapters of the nine Black Greek-letter organizations in the five boroughs. But while she likes the sisterhood atmosphere of being in a sorority, she enjoys the community service she does even more.
A native of the Bronx, Robinson graduated from Baruch College, where she majored in journalism and creative writing with a minor in elementary education. She later earned two master’s degrees in nonprofit management, and education administration and supervision.
Currently, she serves the New York City Department of Education as a technology coordinator at Harlem’s Wadleigh High School. She is also the chief examiner for the GED program at the Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center, where she oversees all of the GED testing at the site.
Robinson said she decided to be a teacher after the death of her mother in 2000. She got her first job at a school during an on-spot interview and started out as a teacher. Robinson is eligible to become a school administrator and sees the need for good principals in public schools.
“It’s about the kids,” she said. “I like to see them excel [and] I like to see them succeed. It’s not just my 9 to 5 job. It transcends to what I do in my sorority. I want kids to be successful members of society. That’s where I get my joy from being a teacher.”
While Robinson was in college, she missed out on an opportunity that she wanted to be a part of: pledging a sorority. Like many colleges in New York City, Baruch didn’t have any Black sororities. In 1997, she became a member of the Delta Beta Zeta graduate chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority in Queens. The sorority was founded in 1914 and has over 800 around the world.
“I actually had the opportunity to observe what [the sorority] was doing in the community, and I saw what best fit for me,” she said. “They had other relationships with other organizations, and I liked what they were doing.”
While all of her aunts were members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the nation’s oldest historically Black sorority, she decided to follow in the footsteps of one of her cousins who joined Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. Robinson is also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.
In Zeta Phi Beta, she participates in Z-H.O.P.E., a community outreach program and partnership with the March of Dimes. The sorority also holds workshops on health and fitness, especially on HPV, and works with Dr. Ian Smith’s 50 Million Pounds Challenge, aimed to combat obesity in the Black community.
“Since I was a child, community service was ingrained in my sister and I,” she said. “My mother used to cook food and give it to people in our project. She would always say to whom much is given, much is required. I try to find as many vehicles I can to serve my time.”