Robin Lee Higgins (born December 23, 1950) is a former Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs in the

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

and a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps.

Early life and education

A native of

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York, Higgins graduated from North Shore High School in Glen Head, and received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

State University of New York at Oneonta The State University of New York at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public university in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneonta N ...

, and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from C.W. Post College of

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...

. She also studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Career

Higgins is a 20-year veteran of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. During the

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

administration, Higgins was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training at the

U.S. Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unem ...

. While there, she served on the Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on Women Veterans and the Department of Defense's Defense Conversion Commission.

Florida Governor The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Florida and is the commander-in-chief of the Florida National Guard and Florida State Gu ...

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

appointed Higgins as executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs in January 1999. On April 30, 2001, President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

nominated Higgins to the post of Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs. She was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on May 24, 2001. The Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs runs the National Cemetery Administration. Higgins left the position on September 1, 2002.

Personal life

Higgins is the widow of Colonel William R. (Rich) Higgins, a Marine Corps officer taken captive by terrorists in Lebanon in 1988, and later murdered. Higgins and his wife, Robin, have one daughter, Christine Higgins Tabaka (born 1970). Since then, she has become a speaker on surviving adversity and terrorism and has written a book, ''Patriot Dreams: The Murder of Colonel Rich Higgins''. Higgins' awards include the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs Exceptional Service Award, Marine Corps League’s Dickey Chapelle Award, American Legion Auxiliary's Public Spirit Award, and American Academy of Physician Assistants Veterans Caucus Award. In May 2003, she was granted an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Robin 1950 births George W. Bush administration personnel Living people Long Island University alumni People from East Meadow, New York People from Glen Head, New York People from the Bronx State cabinet secretaries of Florida State University of New York at Oneonta alumni United States Department of Veterans Affairs officials