Raised in Fanwood, New Jersey, Robinson graduated from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in 1981 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service in 1985 from Georgetown University.

[1] 1997 saw Robinson return to Latin America to work as a political officer in the La Paz embassy, Bolivia until he was recalled in 1999 for a post as special assistant to the then Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright.

[1] His service in Guatemala was marked by the political upheaval deriving from La Línea corruption case and the resignation of President Otto Pérez Molina in 2015.

Due to his actions and support of CICIG, a UN-led commission against impunity of which the USA was one of the biggest contributors, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, Manuel Baldizón, and other local actors lobbied for his dismissal.

In January 2018, Robinson attempted to obtain the release of American citizen, Joshua Holt who had been jailed in the country by meeting with Venezuelan foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza.

[9] Robinson then served as a senior advisor for Central America in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs in Washington, D.C., and as the Director of the International Student Management Office at the National Defense University.

On April 12, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Robinson as Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.