As a volunteer, Kay designed the entrance to the San Diego Home-Garden Expo one year for the California Landscape Contractors Association. She designed an award-winning nursery exhibit once for the Del Mar/San Diego Fair and, and another year collaborated with the National Wildlife Federation, Audubon Society, Native Plant Society, and other landscape professionals, and designed an exhibit on landscaping for wildlife that received four awards.

After the terrible wildfires in San Diego County this past decade, Kay served as a consultant to the development of the course “Living With Wildfire”, a class on wildfire risk reduction that was developed by a team of outstanding professionals under a grant to the San Diego Natural History Museum. She continues to promote better practices to reduce wildfire risks as a community
activist.

Kay serves on the board of the San Diego Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, organizing field trips and coordinating the 2012 Conservation Conference in San Diego.