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

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

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.

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 accoutning. She Volunteers extensively with the Polish community in Portland.

Interns

Alton Spencer
alton [at] interculturalorganizing.org

Alton moved to Portland, Oregon from Ohio in 1995. Over the years he has worked in education and human services, and often as a volunteer for environmental organizations and on political campaigns. Alton enjoys outdoor activities, including hiking, swimming, and bike riding. He is an avid musician and songwriter, and is also working on his first novel. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Portland State University and is currently working on a master’s degree in social work at PSU.

Volunteers

Morad Noury
Strategies and Tactics for Refugee and Immigrant Democratic Engagement (STRIDE) Program Director Volunteer
morad[at] interculturalorganizing [dot] org
(503) 287-4117 ext. 103

Morad Noury, who hails from Turkmenistan (former Soviet Union), previously worked with the United Nations Organization in New York, NY. He moved to Portland, Oregon, in 2001 to work for a non-profit organization that resettles diverse refugees and immigrants from different countries in Oregon, and with that organization, Morad has been accredited since 2003 by the Board of Immigration Appeals of the U.S. Department of Justice to practice before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He has represented thousands of refugees and immigrants in their immigration legal matters.