Tribute to Women: Dr. Loren Robinson
/DR. LOREN ROBINSON
Chief medical officer, CHRISTUS St. Michael Health Center
photo by shane darby
“I have been blessed to have strong women as role models at each and every step.”
Dr. Loren Robinson moved to Texarkana in September 2019 after accepting a job offer from CHRISTUS St. Michael—as their vice president of medical affairs. Six months later, the COVID-19 pandemic tested her mettle.
“I worked with an incredible interdisciplinary team throughout the pandemic here in Texarkana,” Loren said. She was tasked with establishing the hospital as one of the first vaccine hubs in the area. Beginning in December 2020, healthcare professionals and others eligible for first-round vaccination received the Moderna formulation. Loren led this initiative while pregnant with her second child.
“During a time of great uncertainty, this experience required me to lean heavily into my background in public health and medicine,” she said, “but, even more so, into [my] strong faith foundation.”
Loren was born in San Diego, California, and raised outside of Buffalo, New York. She attended Spellman College, where she earned an undergraduate degree in French language and literature. While obtaining her MD from Duke University, she was chosen as an international research fellow with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; she thus spent one year providing HIV care in Cape Town, South Africa. She completed her residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of North Carolina before working for two years as a clinical scholar in Philadelphia. Concurrently, she earned a master’s of health policy research from the University of Pennsylvania. From 2015 to 2019, she served as the deputy secretary for health promotion and disease prevention for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Loren and her family took a Disney cruise in 2026. submitted photo
In May 2019, as deputy secretary, Loren testified about the racial disparities and social determinants of maternal mortality in front of the United States House of Representatives, during a hearing of the Committee on Ways and Means. The late John Lewis, civil rights leader and representative, singled out Loren, saying in part, “I want to recognize one member of the panel . . . Dr. Robinson. Dr. Robinson is a graduate of Spelman College, in the heart of my district, where hundreds of thousands of Black women attended. Now she’s a member of the board of trustees—the youngest member of the board of trustees at Spelman College.”
That experience was “one of the proudest moments of my career,” Loren said. “[Rep. John Lewis] affectionately called me ‘good trouble.’”
In January 2021, Loren was named the chief medical officer of CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System. Her husband, Dr. Ermias Abebe, also works in the CHRISTUS system, as an orthopedic surgeon. The couple has three children: Addis (7), Adane (5), and Alemneh (almost 2). When not at work or with her family, Loren volunteers with the local Kappa Xi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, as well as the Texarkana Twin Cities Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., for which she is the chapter corresponding secretary.
Loren said that her mother and mother-in-law are two of her greatest inspirations. “Strong women raise strong women and men,” she said. “I have been blessed to have strong women as role models at each and every step, starting with my own mother, Jan Robinson, who was a successful working mother with a rewarding career as a pediatric nurse practitioner. [She set an] example of standing for what is right, being a voice for the voiceless, and constantly giving of herself. I am also thankful for the example, grace, and standards set by my mother-in-law, Abeba Tesfai.”
FSLM ASKED LOREN:
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a child, I loved the movie “The Rescuers,” and, because of Miss Bianca, I decided that I wanted to be an ambassador and work at the United Nations.
What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading I, Medusa by Ayana Gray.
If you could speak one sentence of wisdom to your past self, what would you say?
Give yourself grace, and have patience that your blessing is coming.
photo by shane darby
How Sue Johnson Sees Loren:
“Dr. Loren Robinson has been a wonderful mentor and friend. I met her in October 2019 when she came to work at CHRISTUS St. Michael. Her office was next to mine. She always has a smile and lots of energy and passion for health and wellness in our community. I learned so much from her during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our organization became a hub for providing vaccines to the Texarkana community and surrounding areas in northeast Texas and then later coordinating our outreach activities to underserved individuals through our mobile health resources. Through the past few years, we worked together on other community health services and activities in our healthcare ministry. We had many discussions, especially about families and work-life balance. Thank you for your friendship, kindness, and compassion.”