About
Al Toney
Advocate,
entrepreneur, mentor, artist, father, partner, son and
friend. These are just a few of the many roles Al delicately
- and successfully - balances in his life. Born and raised
in Worcester, he is the proud father of Kayla and partner
of Keith Toney. Al Toney and his family have been an integral
part of the Worcester community. The son of a Worcester
public school teacher and state police officer, Al learned
through example that public service is an important part
of creating a dynamic and healthy community.
A
graduate of Holy Name High School, Al pursued his college
education at Quinsigamond Community College and Worcester
State College. He continued the family tradition of law
enforcement and served as a member of the Worcester Police
Department for 8 years. As early as 1984, while pursuing
college courses in criminal justice, Al was focused on
creating safe, inclusive communities for all people. He
served as a police officer in the Worcester Police Department
from March 1987 to April 1995. His department assignments
included service division, route officer, community policing,
drug task force and riot squad. After the tragic death
of his life partner, as a result of a horrible shooting
in which Al survived but his partner and another friend
perished, Al left the police department due to permanent
injuries sustained from the shooting.
Undaunted
by the shooting that forced him into early retirement,
Al harnessed his energy to address the need for diversity
training in both the public and private sectors. He continues
to serve as a consultant to the Massachusetts Department
of Education, Massachusetts Department of Social Services,
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, schools, non-profit
agencies, law enforcement agencies and public and private
corporations. Al offers diversity training as a means of
creating healthier and more effective learning and working
environments. Additional services include grant writing,
research, coalition building, motivational workshops, keynote
speaker, modeling, workshops & seminars, fundraising,
curriculum development, program development and conference
planning.
As
an openly gay African American male, Al has himself been
the target of homophobia and racism. His work is dedicated
to the elimination of these and other forms of discrimination.
While previously serving a leadership role with The Gay
Officers Action League of New England, a member of The
Worcester Human Rights Commission, board member of AIDS
Project Worcester, or running for Worcester City Council,
Al challenges his colleagues and constituents to be aware
of their internalized stereotypes and myths. Since 1993,
he has provided diversity and awareness education consulting
services throughout the United States. Al's commitment
to community services includes volunteering with the Chamber
of Commerce's Leadership Worcester and Arts Worcester Board
of Directors.
A
parent, Al and his partner Keith Toney are raising
Al's teenage daughter and continue to provide emergency
foster care services as foster parents for the Massachusetts
Department of Social Services. As a tireless defender of
the oppressed and an infectious advocate for gay and lesbian
rights, Al is also the former Executive Director of Safe
Homes of Central Massachusetts, an organization that he
CO-founded to address the growing needs of gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender and questioning youth (GLBTQ) who
find themselves homeless or in need of additional human
services because of their sexual orientation. Beginning
as a collection of concerned citizens, with Al's leadership,
this program has most recently been adopted as a formal
program of the Bridge of Central Massachusetts.
Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services
(GLASS) inc., profiled Al in 2003 as one of several "Champions of
LGBTIQQ Youth"; The Advocate, a national gay and lesbian
publication named Al, as one of 117 Worldwide Innovators
in 2001; The local National Conference for Community and
Justice awarded Al with the Twenty-Fourth Annual Leadership
Award in 2001; in 1998 Worcester Magazine named him a Hometown
Hero; Best of Boston in 1997 by Boston Magazine. Al, Keith
and Kayla are currently filming a documentary for Showtime
as well as working on a family-oriented children’s
book that truly reflects many aspects of diversity
and Al’s
autobiography.
