Kay Blair

Kay Blair (1954 – 2016) was the executive director of Community MicroSkills Development Centre, a community agency serving immigrants, low-income women and youth since 1988. Kay made a profound impact on the community in the last two decades and her dynamic, entrepreneurial and innovative leadership made a lasting impression in the GTA. She launched the first Women’s Enterprise & Resource Centre and the first Women’s Technology Institute in Ontario, both of which focus on immigrant and racialized women, served as United Way Toronto Campaign Cabinet for Member Agencies chair and was the lead for a partnership of community agencies to address the concerns of immigrant racialized youth which led to the creation of Dixon Youth Centre. Kay was an Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) president for two terms, a member of the Laidlaw Foundation, Peel Police Race Relations Committee and Centennial College’s board of directors. She was a chair of the William Osler Health System’s board of directors, and in 2014 Osler’s Community Service Award was renamed to honour Kay. She frequently served as a consultant to government and community groups on issues of access, equity and organizational and community development. Among her awards are Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award – Trailblazer (2004); the YWCA Woman of Distinction – Community Leadership (2006); the Premier’s Award – Community and Social Services (2007); and the Outstanding Achievement Award (2011) from Jamaica Canadian Association. Kay passed away in 2016 at the age of 62.