Barbara A. Robinson

Author, Businesswoman, Entrepreneur, National and International Motivational Speaker, Educator, Lecturer, Seminar Presenter, Consultant, and Radio Talk-Show Host.

Author of the exciting books - And Still, I Cry; Yes You Can; and Eyes of the Beholder, Barbara is the president, owner, and founder of Strategies, Tactics, And Results, Associates, Inc., known within the business community as (STAR). STAR is a human resources development and training firm located in Baltimore, Maryland. STAR specializes in training development programs for managers, supervisors, and non-supervisory employees. STAR develops and implements Employee Assistance Programs, self-development programs, small business management training, and in-home health care services.

Barbara is also the founder and Executive Director of SelfPride, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides case management, community-based residential living arrangements and 24-hour direct care services to people with developmental disabilities.

Named in "Personalities of America: Fourth Edition," Barbara is a free-lance writer with several published articles to her credit. She is presently working on a fourth book for children.

Barbara is a 1995 winner of the National Avon and SBA Women of Enterprise Award; a 1996 inductee into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame; a 1996 Baltimore City WBE/MBE for the month of February, and a 1996 honoree of the National Business League and the Small Business Administration's 1999 Welfare-to-Work Entrepreneur. She was awarded the Keys to Cities in three different states, by the Mayors of those cities: Alabama, Tennessee, and South Dakota. She is the past Treasurer of the Association of Minority Women in Contracting, Inc.

Barbara has been an adjunct professor on the faculty of several colleges in Maryland; she taught inmates at Jessup prison for seven years. She is the co-founder and past president of the Minority Women Business Owners Association of Maryland, Virginia, and D.C.; she's an elected Small Business Advocate, a member of the Maryland Association of Affirmative Action Officers, former president of the International Personnel Management Association, former board member of the William Smith Outreach Center, past president of Blacks in Government of State employees; former member of the Governor's Black Male Commission on Criminal Justice; member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and host of a weekly radio talk show in Baltimore. She is the first woman and the first African American in Maryland to hold positions of Deputy Administrator of the District Court, the Supreme Bench and the Circuit Court.

Barbara's educational background includes a B.S. Degree from the University of Baltimore, a Master's Degree from Coppin State College, a postgraduate degree from the Johns Hopkins University, twelve certificates in Management and Supervision from the Management Development Institute and the University of Maryland, and several professional certificates in training from various training institutes.

Eyes of the Beholder
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ISBN: 0972085106
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: September 2002
Publisher: Beumar LLC Publishing Company

"Eyes of the Beholder," is about ten women who have gone through many trials, experienced many obstacles and overcame many hurdles such as racism, child abuse, domestic violence, drug abuse, criminal activity including murder, broken hearts, infidelity and many more society ills. Some of the women came from a life of prostitution, lesbianism and fear.

The women grew into professional people. They became school principals, psychologists, entrepreneurs, doctors, attorneys, social workers, and ministers. Together, they formed an organization to help women and called it WOMAN Power. WOMAN is an acronym for "Women On the Move Against Negativism."

"Eyes of the Beholder", is about a woman named Rebekah who was ashamed of her mother. She saw her mother as an ugly disfigured woman, until she learned the circumstances of her mother's disfigurement. After her mother dies, Rebekah goes on a self-destruction trip in the abyss of life that lasted over twenty years. This trip takes her through years of drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution, the gay life, criminal activity, bad relationships, and finally God, college and self-realization.

It's about a multi-racial woman from the South, from a religious background. She had a Black mother and a White father. Her mother was a housekeeper and her father came from a well-to-do prominent Southern white family.

She and her colleagues founded an organization to help other women. "Eyes of the Beholder," discusses some of the women they helped. It also talks about the men in the lives of the WOMAN Power members. Although Rebekah comes from a troubled past, she becomes an attorney. The other members also had troubled pasts, even the preacher's wife, but they kept holding on to God's hand. After fifteen years of self-destruction and looking for peace and happiness, Rebekah finally realizes that the power to change, to be happy and fulfilled, lies within her. She spends the next five years following God's plan for her, building WOMAN Power, and praying for courage to endure what's ahead in life.

It's about a man loving a woman so much that he's willing to wait a lifetime for her, and when he does find her again, nothing else in this world means anything. He didn't care what she had done and he didn't want to hear about her past. Finally after over twenty years, she finds her true love, she already had it, God was waiting for her to realize it.

Yes You Can
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ISBN: 0972085122
Format: Paperback, 263pp
Pub. Date: January 1999
Publisher: Beumar LLC Publishing Company

"Yes You Can", a book on entrepreneurship, was published in 1998. It was written by a woman, about women, for women. However, it does not exclude men. It can be used as a resource for small businesses and as a guide to help the reader understand the concerns and obstacles with which women in general, and Black women in particular, have to deal. The focus of the book is on women entrepreneurs; however, a great deal of the discussion is about Black women entrepreneurs because they face special problems, real and psychological, when they become business-owners.

This book is written primarily for the new business owner - the new entrepreneur - and for those considering becoming entrepreneurs. However, individuals who have been in business a short time may find the contents of this book beneficial as well. It also provides information for people who may not be starting a business but who want to succeed in the corporate world. It provides material on how to supervise people and how to be all you are capable of becoming.

"Yes You Can" is divided into four stages: "The Start Up and Beginning Stage," "The Operation and Management Stage," "The Growing and Expansion Stage," and "The Personal Development and Actualization Stage." The reader will find motivational and inspirational material, and personal narratives recounting the obstacles and problems the author encountered while starting her own journey into entrepreneurship. The book takes the reader from the author's troubled past as discussed in "And Still, I Cry," to becoming a successful entrepreneur employing over 100 people.

And Still I Cry
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ISBN: 0972085114
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: January 1992
Publisher: Beumar LLC Publishing Company

"And Still, I Cry," was published in 1993. It’s an autobiography of the author’s life, but it's much more than that. It's every woman's story who is trying to either change her life or make a better life for herself and her family. Women say they like the book because it gives them hope when there doesn't seem to be any hope left; they like it because it's not fiction, it's real. They like it because it shows the true spirit of Black women.

It discusses the trials of a young couple fighting individualized battles, both coming from similar backgrounds of alcoholism. Their mothers were alcoholics and the author’s mother eventually died from the disease. Both their mothers were single parents and the author’s stepfather molested and physically abused her. It’s the story of a troubled childhood and young adulthood. The book talks about a rocky road of sex and drugs.

"And Still, I Cry" could have been called "A Test Of Endurance," or "A Woman's Journey Through Life."

It's about life and the choices we have. It's about turning obstacles into challenges. It's about "isms" such as racism, sexism, and abuse-ism. It's about being your own best friend. It's about determination, persistence and not allowing anyone to define your limitations. It's about logo therapy as Victor Frankel talked about in his book "Man's Search For Meaning." It's about Albert Ellis’ Rational Emotive Therapy concept and not dealing with the "ain't it awfuls" of life. It’s about believing that if worrying won't change things, why waste time worrying? It's about decision making. It's telling women and men that it's easier to fail than to succeed; when we fail we can blame someone else for our failures, but when we succeed we have to be responsible and response-able. Therefore, it's about dealing with responsibilities and being response-able.

"And Still, I Cry" is about overcoming adversity. It’s about the author’s personal triumphs over many of society's evils from a Black woman's perspective. The book represents the lives of many women everywhere.

"And Still, I Cry" is a personal story about life's realities and what can be done about them. The author says if she can make it against the odds, other people can too if they really want to. This is a book to help women (and men) who may have had difficulties in their lives and which may still be causing trouble in their relationships today. For example, "And Still, I Cry" shows how the author handled being physically, sexually, and mentally abused as a child; it shows how she handled a difficult marriage; it shows what it’s like to rear four children in the inner city projects, being on welfare, and how she managed to finish college all at the same time. It's a triumphant, down-to-earth true story that has helped a lot of people.

"And Still, I Cry" has positively affected the lives of many people. In many cases, it has given them inspiration, hope, and a renewed belief in themselves. It's about loving yourself and not worrying about what you can't do or what you don’t have, and thanking God for what you can do and what you do have. It’s about remembering the reality of the statement, "I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man with no feet."

Someday is Now
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http://www.starassociatesinc.com

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12 West Montgomery Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230

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