Archive for the ‘Stars’ Category

Stephanie Torres is no stranger to the performance world. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she has done a number of musicals, plays and performances over two decades. The Swizzle Chicks, a swing band she sang with for 10 years, put out an original CD … and more recently she has been seen performing at Tony Starlight’s in the Cabaret Chanteuse evenings.

When she’s not moonlighting for PCRI or Tony Starlight’s, Stephanie Torres is the Director of Events for the Gala’s Media Sponsor, the Portland Business Journal – THE place for business news in the greater Portland area. She produces the organization’s 30+ business events each year from awards events like Oregon’s Most Admired, 40 under 40, CFO of the Year, Women of Influence and Fastest Growing Private 100 Companies, to the 12 monthly talk-show style Power Breakfasts, to the Sustainable Business Oregon network series.

Stephanie is grateful to be with her Domestic Partner of 4 years, Cindy and 11 year old son, Cai.  She is thrilled to be dancing for this worthwhile cause!

Trisonya Abraham is one of the truly elite female women’s basketball representatives in the world today and has been diligently serving clients in professional sports since 1996.  She is fully licensed by both the Women’s National Basketball Player’s Association (WNBPA) and also by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and has served well over 100 WNBA players during her career.

A 1990 Speech Communications graduate from Long Beach State University, Trisonya was a co-captain of the 1989 NCAA National Championship “49er” Volleyball team, earning All-Big West and All-America honors. She was selected to the USA Volleyball National B Team in 1988. Her collegiate career was followed by highly successful professional stints in Belgium and Italy.  In 2011, she and her 1989 NCAA Championship Team were inducted into the Long Beach State University Hall of Fame.

Trisonya continues to keep TTM Management, the agency she founded in 1996, on the cutting edge of professional basketball world-wide.  She and her company are renowned in the basketball community both in the United States and abroad.

Trisonya works from her home-based Portland, Oregon offices and is readily available to her clients 24 hours a day. She and her husband, Michael, have four children, Amirah, Michael, Jr., Tiana and Amari.

Brian Stewart is Vice President and Community Relations Officer for JPMorgan Chase & Co., overseeing grant making responsibilities for Oregon, SW Washington and Idaho.  His career spans over twenty-five years in the banking industry with a majority of that time spent in the community development field.

Mr. Stewart has served in a variety of capacities for local area not-for-profit organizations and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Network for Oregon Affordable Housing (NOAH), Neighborhood Partnerships and is the immediate past Chair of the Portland Housing Center.   He has also led the Oregon Bankers Association’s Community Involvement Committee and served as Chair for the Homeowner Education Collaborative of Oregon.  His work within the community led to his being named an “Outstanding Industry Ally” by the Oregon Opportunity Network.

Mr. Stewart is married to Mary, his lovely wife of 20 years and they have two children, Libby and Alex, who have been involved in a number of local theatrical and dance productions.  For the past seven years, Stewart has performed in cameo roles for the Classical Ballet Academy’s rendition of The Nutcracker.

As a young man, Melvin D. Oden-Orr was excellent at dancing the butterfly.  His specialty, however, is the robot:  “All my friends love when I do the robot,” he says.

Mr. Oden-Orr is the principal attorney with Oden-Orr Law.  Prior to founding Oden-Orr Law, he served as corporate counsel with TriMet and the Portland Development Commission.  He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1993 from UCLA and is a 1996 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, where he was a recipient of the esteemed Rickert Award.

Mr. Oden-Orr has also served as an adjunct professor at the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College.  He currently serves on the PCRI Board of Directors.

Deborah Kafoury, Multnomah County Commissioner for District 1, is passionately committed to the county’s efforts to end homelessness, provide affordable housing, and ensure a safety net for all those in need in our community.

Prior to being elected to the Commission, Deborah served as N/NE Portland’s Representative in the Oregon Legislature from 1999-2004, including her role as House Democratic Leader.  In her free time, she serves as President of the Duniway Elementary School Foundation.

Deborah is married to Nik Blosser and they are the parents of three children.  The closest she comes to dancing most days is watching her six-year-old daughter’s ballet class.