In 1988, Ann Robison was hired to lead the 13-person behavioral health organization known then as Montrose Counseling Center. Dr. Robison has transformed that small agency with its $385,000 budget to the multi-service LGBTQ community center that exists today, with an annual budget exceeding $6 million.
Dr. Robison’s vision to develop programs that improve the quality of life and outcomes for consumers has been instrumental in this growth. Her background as an anti-violence advocate led her to found Texas’s first domestic violence/sexual assault/hate crimes services specifically for LGBTQ survivors.
Her Ph.D. from the University of Texas School of Public Health lends a holistic view of service to the community. That perspective led to the rescue of two struggling organizations – a 24-hour crisis hotline (the LGBT Switchboard) and the oldest LGBTQ youth organization in Texas (Hatch Youth) – by bringing them under the Center’s wing and providing an infrastructure and setting in which they could thrive.
Under Dr. Robison’s leadership, the Center staff and volunteers have integrated behavioral health with primary care, developed senior services and youth homeless prevention services. She also saw a need for a centralized Cultural Center offering community meeting space and synergy with small LGBTQ non-profit partners. With Ann Robison’s leadership, the Montrose Center has flourished as a first-class LGBTQ center with a national reputation.
Dr. Robison is a founding board member of the Network of Behavioral Health Providers. This organization brings together the majority of behavioral health providers in Harris and Fort Bend Counties to collaborate on joint projects and advocate with a collective voice for consumers
