Robin Gorman Newman '81, best known as the author of the popular book How to Meet a Mensch in New York, has perfected the art of juggling her many responsibilities. As a New York publicist, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and family advocate, her name is well-known and very widely circulated in the metropolitan area. Her varied interests have helped her make many new friends and colleagues from a wide range of professions.

Robin Gorman Newman has discovered her life's calling in helping others in love and family matters.

Of all her endeavors, Robin's newest job as mother to 2-year-old Seth is by far the most important, but she continues to seek opportunities that challenge her senses of creativity and entrepreneurship. In fact, she most recently found the work and PR client closest to her heart: the newly opened Adoption Annex in Roslyn, New York.

What is most interesting about Robin is that with each stage of her life, she has made it her mission to ease the way for others going through similar experiences. Finding a soulmate, starting a home-based business, embarking on motherhood after the age of 35, and the difficulties of adoption - these are all personal processes with which Robin has had success and found ways to leave a path for those still struggling.

This writer, publicist, motivational speaker, and advocate grew up in Fresh Meadows, New York, and chose to attend Hofstra for a number of reasons: "I wanted to go away to school but not too far away. The campus was warm and cozy, and almost every major had an arts component."

Robin had enjoyed writing her whole life but decided to go in a different direction when choosing her major. "I didn't study writing because I didn't feel that I had to. I felt that I could just do it. Instead I majored in economics with a French minor.? She laughs, ?I don't know what I was thinking. It was one of the hardest majors. But my thought was I might go into international business." She did, however, write for two of the school newspapers covering the arts and dreamt of one day being a full-time theater critic for a major newspaper.

That didn't come to pass, but, Robin did land a job in package development for Warner Cosmetics, makers of Ralph Lauren cosmetics, shortly after graduation. "I didn't love package development, but I loved cosmetics. The job also gave me an opportunity to work on my writing. Everywhere I've worked, I have always been able to create a writing component for myself."

When Ralph Lauren's marketing department learned about Robin's talents, they called for her assistance in writing "romance" copy - the shades and names of various products. She was thrilled when a name she created, "The Spirited Satchel," made it onto promotional tote bag tags around the country. After becoming a victim of downsizing, Robin moved on to Eastman Kodak company for four years, and it was there that she was introduced to the world of public relations.

"I weaseled my way into a press conference where they were unveiling the first 35 mm camera Kodak ever made. I was a camera demonstrator," says Robin. "A picture of me holding the camera was published in Time magazine. It was such a thrill. After that I was sold on PR."

Though Robin had been in the workforce for a number of years, she had to start from the beginning when she entered the world of public relations and even decided to get her M.B.A. Her first job was at a small boutique firm in Manhattan, Delibes Communications, which represented Revlon and many high-end home furnishings, design and beauty companies. She then spent six years at KCS&A Public Relations where she worked her way up to vice president. Robin's clients varied from the ultra-glamorous "Breck girl" to a high-profile rock concert to a down-and-dirty compost factory.

Robin dealt with the varied cache of clients as best she could. "It was always my hope," says Robin, "that someday I would represent companies and individuals that mean something to me." It was while she was at KCS&A that Robin met her future husband, Marc Newman, on a singles vacation to London and Paris. During their first year of marriage she began jotting notes about dating and relationships. When she was single, Robin had subscribed to a variety of newsletters and magazines geared toward dating and social activities in the city. Her freelance work as a theater critic and arts reporter for The Queens Tribune and a number of other publications also seemed to qualify her as an expert among friends and colleagues as to where to go and what to do in Manhattan to meet people and date successfully.

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