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Portland Observer
Online
‘City of Roses’
Career &
Education
Volume XLIV
Number 14
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • March 25, 2015
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Photo by o livia o livia /t he P ortland o bserver
Since arriving in Portland as a Laotian immigrant over 30 years ago, Lee Po Cha has played pivotal roles in the development of the Immigrant and Refugee Community
Organization, including its Asian Family Center and African House. He becomes executive director of the community service group on April 1.
Immigrant and refugee
group taps leader
by o livia o livia
t he P ortland o bserver
One of the founding members of Portland’s Coalition
of Communities of Color and a longtime advocate for
providing culturally special services to Portland’s im-
migrants and refugees has been named the new execu-
tive director of the Immigrant and Refugee Community
Organization (IRCO).
Lee Po Cha, a Laotian immigrant who came with his
family to the United States over 30 years ago, will now
lead the organization that once helped him naturalize
his citizenship as a teenager and where he has worked
to development the group’s Asian Family Center and
Africa House.
IRCO is a national model for the integration of
Bridging
Cultures
refugees, immigrants, and community at large into a
self-sufficient, healthy, and inclusive multiethnic soci-
ety.
“Mr. Lee brings strong leadership and a deep sense
of commitment to the refugee and immigrant nonprof-
it sector and community,” said Chanpone Sinlapasai,
president of the IRCO board of directors “He has a
wide breadth of perspective and diverse experiences
and expertise at many levels, including case manage-
ment, mentoring, advocacy, executive and leadership
levels.”
Lee has seen the organization change drastically
since he first joined their ranks.
“When I first started with the organization, it was
about a $2 million organization. Now we are a $14 mil-
lion organization. We have grown with programs, new
property, and more employees. When I started we had
about 32 employees. Right now we have closer to 200,”
he said.
A graduate from Roosevelt High School in north
Portland and Marylhurst University, southwest of Port-
land, Lee was a recipient of the organization’s services
in his early years, a fact that influenced him to continue
his education and come back and work for the organi-
zation as an adult.
C ontinued on P age 5