April 3, 2019
Page 3
L
O
C
A
L
N
E
W
S
INSIDE
The
Week in Review
C ALENDAR
page 2
page 6
Johnell Bell
Keith Edwards
Nathan Nayman
Joe Esmonde
Baseball Group Hires Team
Taps leaders
with ties to the
community
page 7
M ETRO
Portland Diamond Project, the
organization behind a push to
bring Major League Baseball to
Portland has expanded its com-
munity engagement efforts by
hiring a new team led by long-
time African American communi-
ty leader Johnell Bell and others
with deep ties to the community.
Bell previously served as U.S.
Sen. Jeff Merkely’s Oregon field
director and before that a long-
time executive at TriMet where
he was director of the Department
of Diversity and Transit Equity.
Keith Edwards, another longtime
African American community
leader in Portland, and two other
engagement professionals—Na-
than Nayman and Joe Esmonde-
-round out the team.
“As a native Portlander whose
grandparents survived the Van-
port Flood to raise a family in
Portland, I have witnessed the
transformation of our city and
state,” Bell said. “This history—
and transformative opportunity—
are the reasons I am thrilled to
join the Portland Diamond Proj-
ect. Working in partnership with
the community, we will not only
build a world class ballpark; we
will also help advance social eq-
uity and ignite economic empow-
erment in intentional and impact-
ful ways.”
“We’re extremely happy to
have him on board to further our
mission of listening, learning and
ultimately partnering with all
Portland to make it better with
baseball,” Portland Diamond
Project President and Founder
Craig Cheek said.
Edwards, an electrician and
labor leader, sits on the TriMet
Board of Directors and has been a
member of the Coalition of Black
Men since its inception 1988. He
was a member and past president
of the Portland Chapter of the
NAACP, served on the Board of
the Columbia Willamette Unit-
ed Way, and was a co-founder
of Constructon Apprenticeship
Workforce Solutions, an organi-
zation formed to diversify and
enhance the construction work-
force.
Nathan Nayman recently
moved to Portland after decades
building coalitions and advocat-
ing for legislative, regulatory,
corporate, community, and indus-
try initiatives in the San Francis-
co Bay Area; and Joe Esmonde,
who handles labor relations work
for PDP, was a longtime labor
union business representative for
the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers.
Ministries Group Honors Toran
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
C LASSIFIEDS
pages 7-9
pages 10
Ecumenical Ministries of Or-
egon will honor Kay D. Toran,
president and chief executive of-
ficer of Volunteers of America Or-
egon, as “Ecumenist of the Year”
on Wednesday, April 24 at its
Benefit Dinner and Awards Cele-
bration.
Toran has directed Volunteers
of America Oregon since 1999, a
nonprofit which serves children
and families, single adults and
the frail elderly. She previous-
ly served as director of Oregon’s
Services to Children and Families
Department and as the director of
affirmative action for the state.
She also worked as an assistant
professor in the Graduate School
of Social Work at Portland State
University.
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O PINION
pages 11
Kay Toran
Toran’s choices in life were
motivated by her background.
“My parents, who were suc-
cessful small business owners and
deeply religious, modeled to us
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the importance of service to oth-
ers, giving back to those in need,”
she said. “My parents’ imprint, my
personal belief system informed
by my religious beliefs, and my
love of others is what fuels my
leadership. It is my personal joy
to serve others whether it is chil-
dren, adults, families or those who
are temporarily off-track. Helping
individuals to get back on track is
truly my life’s mission.”
Ecumenical Ministries of Or-
egon’s April 24 celebration is
the single most important annual
fundraiser for the organization’s
vital ministries to the poor, the
vulnerable, the hungry and the
sick throughout the state of Ore-
gon. For reservations and more
information, visit emoregon.org.
Attn: Subscriptions, PO Box
3137, Portland OR 97208
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