2021 Lifetime Achievement Awardee
Kay D. Toran, President/CEO of Volunteers of America Oregon (VOA Oregon)
For over twenty years, Ms. Toran has been at the helm of this 124-year old non-profit agency; a broad-based, human-services organization providing programs designed to help improve the lives of children, families, and seniors. After graduating from the University of Portland with a BA in Sociology/Psychology, Ms. Toran married and moved to Wertheim, Germany to join her husband. After returning to Portland, Oregon, she continued her education at Portland State University earning an MSW from the School of Social Work, and later was hired by Portland State University as an Assistant Professor of Social Work. She served in several management positions in the State of Oregon during her ascent up the career ladder, including six years as the Director of Oregon’s Child Welfare agency and seven years as the Director of Oregon’s Affirmative Action Office under Governor Vic Atiyeh. Ms. Toran was raised in Portland’s predominantly African American community; one of four children of Ben and Mary Rose Dean; successful entrepreneurs who located to the Northwest during the Great Migration. The Deans founded a small business, Dean’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop, which is still owned and operated by a member of the family today and is the oldest African American owned business in the State of Oregon. They not only founded the business but also constructed the building on a then vacant lot, which was a huge accomplishment at the time given all the restrictions on loaning money to African Americans. Ms. Toran currently serves on the Providence Health and Services’ Oregon Community Ministry Board and on the Board of Regents of the University of Portland. Due to her leadership, effectiveness, and success serving those in our community – Ms. Toran has been honored with numerous awards during her career. To highlight a few, she has received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Portland; the Urban Pioneer Award from Portland State University; the CEO of the Year for Non-Profits from the Portland Business Journal; Ecumenist of the Year Award from Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon; the Award for Excellence from the State Management Association of the State of Oregon, the Vic Atiyeh Award for Excellence in Education from Concordia University; and the Sandra McDonough Leadership Award from the Portland Business Alliance. Ms. Toran was also honored by Portland Mayor Sam Adams with a Day of Appreciation in her name for the significant contributions she made to the community as a servant-leader. Ms. Toran is the mother of two adult children and the grandmother of three. She delights in saying, “all that we do is on behalf of the children. They deserve our best!”