MaryAnn Robins is the president of the Circle Legacy Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and empowering Indigenous peoples in Lancaster City.

An indefatigable and dynamic advocate for the Indigenous community and a preeminent voice for human rights, Robins is a transformative force in our region. Through her leadership with the Circle Legacy Center and her role as resident liaison to the Plain community for WellSpan Health, Robins has cultivated essential space for education, dialogue, and healing — work that is firmly rooted in her deep commitment to empathy, integrity, and community partnership. 

Robins’ commitment to community-building led her to F&M’s campus as Community Fellow for the inaugural year of the College’s Mellon Foundation-funded Reckoning with Lancaster project. In this role, Robins was instrumental to the summer curricular institute for faculty and the Summer Research Scholar program for students. She also partnered with F&M professors to develop two classes, “Indigenous Histories in Lancaster” and “Indigenous Futures in Lancaster,”  imparting purpose, wisdom and local connection to students’ learning.

Robins has dedicated her life’s work to elevating Indigenous voices and forging enduring bonds between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities throughout Lancaster. As an Onondaga who grew up on Haudenosaunee tribal lands in upstate New York and a Carlisle Indian School descendant, her leadership carries the weight of history, while also embodying hope for the future by turning history into a powerful catalyst for education, restoration, and visibility. She graduated from Boston College with a bachelor’s degree in biology and worked as an interpreter in the Wampanoag history program at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts.

MaryAnn Robins, for your resolve to support and empower the Indigenous people of Lancaster and beyond; for your unwavering commitment to inclusive educational programming and strengthening the connections among Indigenous and non-Indigenous people; and for your active and engaged partnership with F&M students and faculty as they address our city’s past, present, and future, Franklin & Marshall College bestows upon you the Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.