LORasia ieru Toilolo-Tooson | voyagers youth coordinator

Pronouns: She/Her

Pasifika Culture: Sāmoan

About Lorasia Peru Toilolo-Tooson:

Welcome our new VOYAGERS Youth Coordinator, Lorasia! 

With a wealth of experience, Lorasia brings four years of small business expertise from running Rasia’s Ono Ice, where they’ve mastered everything from operations and management to inventory and marketing. They even had the honor of making it into the newspaper! This year has been especially exciting as Rasia’s Ono Ice has blossomed, allowing  Loraisia to juggle events while building their career during the day. Talk about resourcefulness!

Lorasia’s talents don’t stop there! They also have four years of digital marketing experience under their belt, having completed several independently led courses. They’ve successfully helped two businesses shine on social media, specializing in Instagram Reels, TikToks, engaging posts, captivating captions, and stunning photography and videography. And let’s not forget Lorasia’s sweet side—they have three years of baking experience, creating delightful chocolate-covered treats like strawberries, cookies, custom chocolates, brownies, and rice crispy treats. Yum!

On top of all that, Lorasia has also completed the DONA International Birth Doula Training Certificate, showcasing their dedication to supporting others in meaningful ways.

When Lorasia isn’t busy with work, you’ll find them soaking up the sun, paddle boarding, and cleaning with a positive mindset of “I deserve this for myself.” They love listening to music and getting lost in nostalgic cartoons while making their space feel cozy and welcoming.

We’re so grateful to have Lorasia on our team, and we can’t wait to see the amazing things they’ll accomplish as our Youth Coordinator! Welcome aboard, Lorasia!

Get to Know LORASIA!

What is your favorite Islander Food?: Spam musubi, Chicken Sapasui , chicken long rice, Palusami and Laulau

What is your most meaningful memory with someone who is a member of the QT/PI community or with your culture?:

I was really little and this was when my older cousins were in middle/high school in the early 2000's. They started using the word gay in a derogatory way at school and it eventually followed them home in front of me and my aunty. My aunty Nita corrected them so smoothly, for how usually intimidating she can be lol She said " don't say that because we have aunty sonny" who is our beautiful lovely hanai /unofficially adopted trans aunty that we adore so much. I never heard my cousins say gay in a derogatory way again. No she didn't have the full vocabulary to explain the difference between sexuality and gender in the LGBTQ+ community, but when my cousins challenged aunty Nita by saying "But Aunty Sonny's not gay." Aunty Nita doubles down again saying " Don't talk like that because we have Aunty Sonny and her Husband Uncle Steve."

Rest in alofa to my Aunty Nita and Uncle Steve as they have since passed but the lesson sticks with me to this day.

What are you most excited to do or achieve during your time at UTOPIA PDX?

Giving QTPI youth a safe space because it's hard to be a QTPI in school on your own! Truly I want to be able to give QTPI a better queer experience than I did in as many ways possible.