Cara Turano, the Technology Association of Oregon’s (TAO) Chief Operating Officer, is a high energy, civically minded executive and a native of Atlanta, Georgia. In her role with TAO, she manages internal operations and an external portfolio that includes regional executive engagement, cybersecurity programming, tech advocacy and workforce/talent development with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in technology.

Cara serves as the Innovation Awards Chair for the Tech Councils of North America (TECNA), sits on the Board of Directors for TECNA and is a member of the Prosper Portland\’s TechTown Diversity Pledge Steering Committee, the WorkSystems Workforce Development Board, the Oregon STEM Investment Advisory Council and a member of the Oregon Cyber Advisory Council (OCAC). Additionally, Cara has been a Junior League member in Birmingham, Alabama, Atlanta, Georgia and now Portland, Oregon where she is a sustaining member after 15 years of service. She served in the first class of the Association of Junior League’s Volunteer Solutions Specialists as an equity, inclusion and diversity consultant. Cara is the recipient of a Girl’s Inc. BOLD award, a TAG Diversity in the Workplace award, and Atlanta Business Chronicle and UGA Alumni Association Top 40 Under 40. In her spare time, Cara is an avid runner, reader and vegetarian chef with a soft spot for her 6 lb chihuahua, Toby, and a passion for social justice.