About Us
My Story
My name is Barrett Robinson and I have quite the story to tell. Prior to 2020, I had spent the better part of a decade burning my life to the ground with one bad decision after another. I self-medicated heavily with alcohol due to a neurological disorder that affected just about every facet of life. Back then, I knew little of Christ’s love.
In 2020, my entire life turned around. I met the woman who would become my wife, and she introduced me to the Catholic faith. I was absolutely not prepared for how profoundly this Church would change my life. I read everything I could, and studied everything I could. In just over a year, I would be confirmed into the Catholic Church. I live a completely different life today and I am here writing to you only by the grace of God, who for some reason saw it fit to save a wretch such as myself. God is good!
Our Ministry
In late 2020, as I was on my faith journey, I truly felt called to serve the Lord in serving others. At first, I wanted to help those who had suffered as I did. The addicts, the poor, and the homeless. But with the help of my wife Michelle, along with other family and friends, this ministry grew quite rapidly. By 2023 we were making road trips all around the region to deliver to food pantries, Church missions, and homeless shelters.
Having recently moved to West Virginia, I saw the poverty that hit this region so hard. I saw so many people crying for help – voices that the world would never hear. I knew that there was more that our ministry could do, but it would be some time before I fully discerned exactly what that was.
In late 2025, after much prayer and discernment, I made the decision to transform our ministry not just into an action based ministry, but one that engaged in critical research projects for the benefit of the people of Appalachia. Our ministry was originally called Blue Yonder, and I changed the name to Data Trust – after the company that my father had formed as a computer programmer to support our family when I was very young.
We are now well on our way through 2026. We have a flurry of research projects going on, with my background in statistics, geography, and groundwater management aiding us on the way. We serve all of the 423+ counties in the Appalachian region, researching critical issues, and taking meaningful action to remedy crises that the region faces. I try to regularly provide updates on our research, and keep people informed about our actions in the region. I also try to share the wisdom of all of the wonderful people who taught me, by periodically posting faith-based reflections.
Data can be used for good. It can be used to do the Lord’s will. And that is what is happening right here at Data Trust. I am deeply grateful and humbled by all of the wonderful and amazing people that have entered my life during my faith journey to teach me such important things. I am truly blessed to have the family that I have. And I am eternally grateful to God for our opportunity to serve in such a unique and impactful way. We wish to see others thrive as we do, so that the Appalachian region can one day be lifted out of poverty, and those ignored voices will finally be heard.
May God Bless you and keep you - until then.