Staff, interns, and volunteers
Staff
Kayse Jama
Executive Director
kayse [at] interculturalorganizing [dot] org
(503) 287-4117 ext. 102
Kayse Jama, an original founder of CIO, was born into a nomad family in Somalia. He left when the civil war erupted, and finally found sanctuary in Portland. From 2005 to 2007, he trained immigrant and refugee community leaders in five Western states—Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah and Idaho—under a prestigious New Voices Fellowship at Western States Center. He has been awarded the Skidmore Prize for outstanding young nonprofit professionals (2007), the Oregon Immigrant Achievement Award from Oregon chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (2008), and the 2009 Lowenstein Trust Award, which is presented yearly to “that person who demonstrated the greatest contribution to assisting the poor and underprivileged in the City of Portland, Oregon.”
Carmen Madrid
Executive Operations Manager
carmen [at] interculturalorganizing [dot] org
Carmen Madrid joined the CIO staff in 2011 as Executive Operations Manager, where she is responsible for the day to day operations of CIO, working in close collaboration with Executive Director Kayse Jama and CIO Program Directors. Carmen’s educational background includes a business degree in systems and quantitative analysis from Portland State University. She has worked over 20 years in Oregon’s healthcare insurance business with employers such as Providence, HealthNet, and Kaiser in research, software development, finance, contract negotiations and systems redesign and development positions. Carmen will bring this systems experience to CIO, where she intends to help build a solid organizational infrastructure.
Andrew Riley
Public Policy Director
andrew [at] interculturalorganizing [dot] org
Born in Portland and raised in Iowa, Andrew Riley graduated in 2010 from Lewis & Clark College with a degree in Sociology, Anthropology, and Hispanic Studies, a path which has carried him to work with rural indigenous farmers in the Chilean Andes, and second-generation Hmong-American students around the US. An activist at heart, his passion is socially just public policy and advocacy. He is working with CIO to develop an inclusive, progressive policy agenda which advances immigrant & refugee rights
Stephanie D. Stephens
Organizational Development Director
stephanie [at] interculturalorganizing [dot] org
(503) 575-0995 (cell)
Stephanie D. Stephens has spent the past fourteen years in nonprofit work, with an emphasis on communications and development for social justice and civic organizations. Currently CIO’s development specialist and grant writer, she was most recently currently the Lead Project Manager for Vision into Action with the City of Portland.
Karla Hernandez
Washington County Organizer
karla [at] interculturalorganizing [dot] org
(503) 913-6969 (Beaverton)
Karla Hernandez was born in Guatemala where she lived until she was nine years old. She graduated from CIO’s 2010-2011 Pan-Immigrant Leadership and Organizing Training (PILOT) program and became involved in our organizing work in Beaverton, where she worked with CIO conducting community based research. Karla recently received a Bachelor’s Degree from Portland State University in Criminal Justice and plans to pursue a law degree in the future.
Nicole Brown
Civic Engagement Coordinator
nicole [at] interculturalorganizing [dot] org
(541) 280-8817
Born in Chile, raised in Hawaii, and transplanted to Oregon, Nicole Brown joined the CIO staff as Civic Engagement Coordinator in the Spring of 2012. She has always had a passion for social justice, travel, and learning from different cultures. Through obtaining her Bachelors in Liberal Studies at PSU, she was able to spend extensive time in Central America and one year at the University of Puerto Rico. After graduating, Nicole went back to work in Santiago, Chile as a research assistant for a firm that works to make Chile’s mining industry more socially responsible. When she came back in September 2011, Nicole started work as a Civic Engagement intern for CAUSA, which lead her to her work at CIO.
Olympia J. Trusty
Accountant/Bookkeeper
olimpia [at] interculturalorganizing [dot] org
Born and raised in Poland, Olimpia moved to the United States in 2001. She graduated from University of Montana and Portland State University in Finance and Accounting. Olimpia has worked for public and private firms, with a growing interest towards non profit accounting. She Volunteers extensively with the Polish community in Portland.
