Our journey from Children’s Hospital New Orleans to Manning Family Children’s 

CDO Spotlight: Kristen Robinson, Vice President, Marketing & Institutional Advancement, Manning Family Children’s

2025 is a big year for our hospital. This year, we celebrate 70 years of delivering expert care for the children of Louisiana and beyond as the first and only freestanding, comprehensive children’s hospital serving Louisiana and the Gulf South. We are also celebrating a new beginning as we proudly become Manning Family Children’s, moving into the next 70 years with a bold vision to make Louisiana a national leader in child health and wellbeing. 

Announced in February, our extraordinary collaboration with the Manning family – Olivia, Archie, Cooper, Peyton and Eli – unites two champions of excellence – Children’s Hospital New Orleans and the Manning Family – who share a deep commitment to innovation, compassion, and the care and wellbeing of kids.  

The challenges that our kids and communities face here in Louisiana are significant, and we aspire to change that – to improve the health of a generation. Our new chapter as Manning Family Children’s will help us make an even greater impact on kids’ health moving forward. It will help ensure that all children have access to the expert and often lifesaving care they need, close to home.  

This generational change will happen together with the continued support of our community, and champions like the Manning family who are passionate about shining a spotlight on the extraordinary work happening within our four walls and out in our community, and by bringing more resources to help expand our mission. 

Two Louisiana Legacies coming together  

Archie Manning moved to New Orleans from Mississippi 54 years ago with his wife, Olivia, by his side when he was drafted by the Saints right after graduating from Ole Miss. During the ten seasons he played with the New Orleans Saints, he set passing records, played in two Pro Bowls, and was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1978. While the team never had a winning season, the city was always behind them.  

For Archie, this is a powerful way of giving back – and getting behind the city of New Orleans, and the entire region. And when it comes to giving back, the family wanted to be a part of this pillar of our community. 

The “we” is because the hospital is named Manning Family Children’s, and that includes the full family. While Archie and Cooper are the only two who still live in New Orleans, the sense of philanthropy that he and Olivia have instilled in their three children is evident everywhere, with a lifelong commitment to the place they all call home. Both Peyton and Eli have been involved with children’s hospitals and children’s causes for many years, including helping to raise important funds for hospitals in communities where they have lived and worked.  

As Archie so eloquently put it, it was time for their family to get into the game here in New Orleans. For the family, this is ultimately about helping Children’s help more kids, and we plan to do that together. 

The journey to our big announcement  

While the Mannings have always been quiet supporters of the hospital, over the last few years we had the opportunity to bring the family in, to share about the significant impact we are making following a period of unprecedented growth and transformation. The hospital helped 585,000 kids just last year (the most in our history), with nearly $50M provided in charitable care and essential community programs. 

Conversations moved quickly with Archie and Cooper, who saw an opportunity to help sustain and scale our vital mission, and brought the rest of the family into the vision. The family’s affinity for children’s hospital and longstanding commitment to kids and communities quickly brought our conversations to renaming through a transformational commitment from the family.  

We also quickly realized that 2025 was a big year – the hospital was turning 70, and the big game was coming to New Orleans – the Super Bowl! Was there ever going to be a better time to share our vision for our new, bold chapter for kids, with America’s first football family by or side? We had a once in a lifetime opportunity to announce our renaming with the national football community in New Orleans – so, we were off and running toward plans to announce in February!  

On Wednesday, February 5, friends, patrons, and supporters gathered for our inaugural Louisiana Legacy celebration, presented by Raising Cane’s. The event featured live musical entertainment and a fireside chat with the Manning family, while supporting the hospital’s vital, 70-year mission. Held at Louisiana NOW Pavilion, a special venue spearheaded by Governor Jeff Landry and hosted by Louisiana Economic Development and partners during the 2025 Super Bowl, the event honored Olivia and Archie Manning, and the Manning family, for their steadfast commitment to improve the wellbeing of children and families across Louisiana, and far beyond. What attendees did not know was that a surprise announcement was in store!  

A fireside chat with the Mannings culminated in a surprise announcement of the hospital’s renaming and new chapter as Manning Family Children’s. The extraordinary moment welcomed applause and celebration from the more than 600 in attendance. The legacy event continued with live music, cuisine and more – raising more than $3M in support of the hospital.  

Celebrations continued the following day with a press conference and celebration at the hospital announcing the new name, unveiling the new logo, and sharing more about the hospital’s bold vision for child health. That day, we also launched a comprehensive regional rebranding campaign, which had been quietly in the works for many months!  

Engaging key stakeholders was incredibly important in the days and months following the announcement, including our donors and supporters. Our renaming has been an incredible opportunity to connect with supporters, to share about our impact, to highlight our vital mission, and to introduce our vision for what’s next – ultimately helping more kids – and creating a healthier future for Louisiana’s kids, now with the Mannings by our side. What’s most exciting is, in many ways – we are just getting started!  

There is no greater purpose, and that is what fuels all of us within the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals community.  

Learn more about our new chapter at this link >> 

Get to know Kristen:

Kristen Robinson serves as Vice President of Marketing and Institutional Advancement for Manning Family Children’s in New Orleans. In her role, Kristen is responsible for development, marketing, public relations, and community partnerships. She has grown her career at LCMC Health for the last 16 years, and has worked in healthcare marketing and development for nearly 20 years. Kristen and her team have grown marketing and fundraising programs at Children’s during periods of unprecedented growth, including the completion of a $300M expansion project and $40M capital campaign, and driving the vision and planning for Walker’s Imaginarium, a first of its kind Child Enrichment Center planned for the main campus of Manning Family Children’s. In her role, Kristen works to advance Manning Family Children’s 70-year mission through development of comprehensive marketing, communications, and fundraising initiatives. Kristen graduated from the University of Richmond with a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric and Communication Studies, and minors in Journalism and Spanish. She is a member of the Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development, Louisiana Hospital Association’s Marketing and Public Relations Constituency Group, and serves on the CDO Advisory Committee for Children’s Miracle Network. Kristen and her husband have three children, and are proud to call New Orleans home.