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Kay Toran, president and CEO of Volunteers of America, Oregon, will receive the 2005 Urban Pioneer Award for Civic Leadership from the College of Urban and Public Affairs at Portland State University.

“Kay Toran has a long and distinguished career helping and supporting Oregon’s children and families,” said Lawrence Wallack, dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs. “Her legacy is one of giving back, to the people and the communities that propelled her professional life.”

Toran will join Portland Mayor Vera Katz in receiving the Urban Pioneer Awards at the fourth-annual dinner and banquet April 13, 2005, at the Portland Hilton Hotel.

“My parents passed on to me a sense of service – to give back to my community,” said Toran. “To be recognized for my personal commitment of finding solutions for Oregon’s high-need groups dealing with issues of class, poverty and race is so rewarding and a statement to those who share my passions and work tirelessly to help others. I am honored to receive this special recognition from my alma mater, Portland State.”

Kay Toran holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Portland and a master's degree from the Graduate School of Social Work at Portland State. After graduation she became an assistant professor of social work at PSU. She followed that with positions in the Adult and Family Services Division for the State of Oregon, and later served as an assistant to and director of Affirmative Action for Governor Vic Atiyeh.

Toran held a number of key positions with the State of Oregon before leading the State Office for Services to Children and Families as its administrator. Since 1999, she has guided Volunteers of America, Oregon, an organization that serves thousands of Oregon families, children, seniors and those needing rehabilitation services.

Among the many recognitions given Toran: a PSU Distinguished Alumna Award in 1995, the Urban League of Portland’s 1999 Equal Opportunity Award and the 2000 White Rose Award by the Portland Chapter of the March of Dimes. In 1997 she was part of a four-person team selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to review orphanages in Romania.

The Urban Pioneer award recognizing an outstanding community organization will be announced at a later date. In 2004, Urban Pioneer Awards were given to Don Clark (Nohad A. Toulan Urban Pioneer for Public Service), Barbara Farrow Walker (Urban Pioneer for Civic Leadership) and REACH Community Development, Inc. (Urban Pioneer Community Organization).

Sources:
John Ray (503-819-0589)
and
Lawrence Wallack (503-725-4043)
College of Urban and Public Affairs