The Marjaree Mason Center honored Dr. Colleen Torgerson, an education professor, Friday at the Fresno Convention Center Exhibit Hall as one of the top ten professional women for 2013.

The Marjaree Mason Center, which is named after a Fresno State alumna, runs the only domestic violence shelters in Fresno County. The center has honored women who make great strides in their career fields and serve as role models in the community for the past 30 years.

Torgerson, also an alumna, joined the Kremen School of Education and Human Development in 1999 after working for Fresno Unified. She teaches in the master’s and credential programs for special education, as well as the educational leadership doctoral program.

Torgerson said while she was growing up, there were no laws to protect children with special needs or advocating for them to be in school.

“Part of my job is to prepare teachers to be there for all of their students,” she said.

She also served as the program coordinator, department chair and associate dean for the Kremen School.

Torgerson said there were many people who were a part of the event that helped her through the years.

“There are many people who lifted me up and stood behind me. They’ve been a part of building me up as a person,” she said.

Torgerson credited Fresno State professors Dr. Bette Baldis and Dr. Karen Jensen as being pivotal in her knowledge about deaf education. She said her mentor in doctoral school was her dissertation chair at the time, Dr. Karen Carey.

“They shaped me in different ways,” Torgerson said.

The award was both surprising and humbling, she said.

“When you work as a professional and you’re doing what you think is important, you don’t expect to be recognized,” Torgerson said.

In the past, Torgerson was recognized by the Jan and Bud Richter Awards of Excellence in Education for “astounding accomplishments that help prepare future educators.”

Other women who were honored at the event came from a variety of professions. Nominations are submitted by anyone in the community. A board of directors made up of community men and women read the nominations and decide who receives the honor.