Kay has a history of helping people who are struggling through life and believes in the power of trauma-informed care in everything she does.

Kay is one of the founders of SPIRIT of Santa Paula, a non-profit corporation serving Santa Paula’s least powerful and most vulnerable population in the Santa Clara River Valley of Ventura County CA. She is the author of a book on homelessness called “Harvard Shelter.”

Her business style is to approach every situation with the elements of trauma-informed care. “Everyone we meet is hurting in some way and has a story.  Disparate views are often the result of a lack of listening. The goal is always to bring closure to hurting people and reveal the benefits of compromise.”

She has a BS degree from Cal Poly Pomona and a BA with postgraduate work from the Master’s University. She is a co-mediator in Ventura Superior Court and has training in neighborhood mediation.

Kay is a full-time property manager and REALTOR® for Century 21 Real Estate Alliance and has been in the same business since 1976.

She served as Mayor of the City of Santa Paula, three times as president of the Santa Clara Valley Boys and Girls Club, and president of the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce. She is a PEO and a member of AAUW.

In 2015, she was named one of three Champions of Home by the California Association of Realtors and received one of five Good Neighbor Awards from the National Association of Realtors in 2017, and was twice named Realtor of the Year.

Kay is the Lead Chaplain serving the Ventura County Fire Department and serves as an Ethics Advocate and member of the Professional Standards Committee for the Ventura County Coastal Association of Realtors. 

She was named the Most Distinguished Alumnus from Cal Poly Pomona in 1992, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from Latino Town Hall in 2016, the Douglas Shively Award for Community Advocacy from the United Way, and the Community Service Award for 2024 in the City of Santa Paula.