IRCO makes decisions and provides services with the input, guidance and collaboration of the diverse communities we serve. Over 75% of IRCO staff and Board of Directors are immigrants or refugees themselves with leadership roles in their specific communities.
Executive Director
Lee Po Cha
Lee Po Cha, MBA, became IRCO's Executive Director in April 2015. He has served IRCO since 1981 in a multitude of leadership roles, most recently as Associate Director and Director of IRCO's Pacific Islander & Asian Family Center, which he helped found in 1994. A tireless advocate, Lee provides a voice for Oregon's increasingly diverse communities through his service on numerous commissions and boards, including A Home for Everyone Board, past president of the All Hands Raised Board, past president of the Hmong American Community of Oregon, council member of Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN), co-founder of the Coalition of Communities of Color, as well as serving on its Board of Directors.
A former refugee from Laos, Lee came to Oregon in 1978 and received his MBA from Marylhurst University. As a Hmong American, he embodies the vision of IRCO as an organization committed to helping each immigrant and refugee family achieve their full potential in their new home.
Board of Directors
Laila Hajoo, President
Laila was born in Denver, Colorado to an American-white mother and an Iraqi-Immigrant father. Laila was raised in Seattle, WA, and graduated from the University of Washington...
with a B.Sc. in Mathematics. She worked for several technical companies as a software engineer and Quality Assurance Test Manager for about 38 years. Laila resided in Baghdad, Iraq as a child for a few years and maintains connections with her family there. Laila is married to a Japanese-American citizen and has traveled to several countries around the world, exposed to different cultures and perspectives.
When time permits, Laila loves to garden, take walks, bike and care for her parrot of 38 years.
Zaur Akhriev, Past President
Zaur Akhriev, President, is a Senior Portfolio Manager at The Standard Insurance Co., where he co-manages $8 billion in corporate bond assets. Prior to joining the portfolio management group...
he worked in StanCorp Investment Advisors selecting and monitoring mutual fund managers. He has a BA from Portland State University and MBA from the University of Oregon. Zaur is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst. He moved to Portland from southern Russia in 1998.
Matt McClellan, Vice President
Matt’s law practice has been devoted entirely to immigration law since 1996. His firm is focused on immigration law matters for businesses and employers...
but he also serves families and individuals.
Through his work, he has seen the benefits that immigration brings to our country. Matt volunteers with local organizations and community groups to assist refugees and other immigrants, and provides mentorship to other immigration attorneys. In addition to IRCO, he serves on the boards of directors for two Portland non-profits: Independent Living Resources (promoting independence for those who live with disabilities) and Village Enterprises (elder care and housing).
Matt received his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and his law degree from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America. After working for several years in Washington, D.C. law firms, he moved to Portland in 1996 to start his own law firm.
Matt was born and raised in Walla Walla, Washington to a large family. He lives in Milwaukie with his wife, who is a bilingual (Spanish-English) social worker/counselor, their children and various pets.
Aneesh Aggarwal, Secretary
Aneesh immigrated from India in 1999 and received his PhD in Computer Engineering from University of Maryland at College Park. He started his career as faculty at State University of New York...
before transitioning to the Tech Industry. He has held technical leadership positions at various technology companies and currently works at Intel Corp.
Aneesh has been active in the community tutoring under-privileged and immigrant kids. He has a passion for social justice and equity and looks forward to contributing towards IRCO’s mission through his years of professional and personal experiences. He enjoys travelling, learning new languages, and interacting with people from different cultures.
Komi Kalevor, Treasurer
Komi Kalevor has nearly three decades of affordable housing experience that includes housing development finance, underwriting, banking and organizational development.
He is currently Executive Director at the Housing Authority of Washington County where he oversees rental assistance, Continuum of Care, Public Housing programs as well as Affordable Housing development that serves nearly 10,000 households.
He previously worked as Assistant Vice President with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, as a Senior Program Manager with the Portland (Oregon) Housing Bureau, as Housing Director (Interim) with the Portland Development Commission now renamed Prosper Portland. He has underwritten or project managed over 15,000 mixed-income and affordable housing units in the states of Oregon and Washington. As Tax Credit Program Manager, with Oregon Housing and Community Services Department during the first decade of LIHTC, he spearheaded innovative program management work that expanded access and led to geographic dispersal of nearly 5,000 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit as well as Private Activity Tax-Exempt Bond financed affordable housing units statewide. He has previously served the Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity Portland Metro West, ACE Housing in Vancouver, Washington, Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives (PCRI) and continues to serve on affordable housing nonprofit Boards of Directors.
Komi earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Portland State University and a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance from the Atkinson School at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He holds various affordable housing and banking certificates and is a certified Public Housing Manager and Voucher Executive Manager.
Vadim Mozyrsky, Board Member
Vadim Mozyrsky was born in Kiev, Ukraine. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and a juris doctorate degree from the University...
of Texas School of Law. After law school, he clerked for judges in state, federal and international courts. Before his current work in the field of disability law, he practiced corporate litigation and mediation.
Vadim is active in the Portland community, focusing on disability and immigrant issues. He has served on numerous city commissions and committees, institutional advisory boards, and in community-based organizations. Currently he sits on the Portland Committee on Community Engaged Policing and the Citizen Review Committee. Vadim is a national representative for the Association of Administrative Law Judges and a member of the Portland Khabarovsk Sister City Association. In his free time, he enjoys traveling and exploring the Pacific Northwest.
Karina Rutova, Board Member
Karina Rutova, MBA, came to the US as a refugee from Kyiv, Ukraine. She has an MBA and MBA Healthcare degrees. She worked for twelve years for non-profit...
organizations, Catholic Charities and Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. She also worked for nine years for the City of Portland, Commissioner Saltzman's Office. She was instrumental in developing the Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services and worked as an Assistant Director of this organization. For the last three years, she has worked for Multnomah County and continues her career as an Assistant Director of the Gateway Center. Karina is also involved in different initiatives of the Slavic and Eastern European Community and was a founding member of Portland Police Bureau Slavic Advisory Council, City of Portland Slavic Empowerment Team, IRCO’s Slavic and Eastern European Center Advisory Council.
She is on the Leadership Team of Immigrant and Refugee Employees Resource Group of Multnomah County. She is also involved with helping Ukrainian refugees.
Cayle Tern, Board Member
Cayle Tern, MSW, President of the Iu Mien Association of Oregon and Reynolds School District Board Director. Cayle graduated from California State University,
Chico with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and earned a Master of Social Work degree from Portland State University. Cayle is passionate about social justice and equity. As a former refugee of Laos and a member of a minority ethnic group, he has experienced similar obstacles that hinder our refugees' and immigrants' ability to thrive in the United States. As an organizer, Cayle collaborates with grass roots community-based organizations to advocate for immigrants, refugees, and marginalized families. He serves the Southeast Asian Community by representing them on local community and government advisory boards and committees. In his spare time, Cayle likes to enjoy the outdoors of the Pacific Northwest. He is also an avid outdoorsman who enjoys spending time with his family, friends, and community.
Charles McGee II, Board Member
Charles Addy McGee II is an educator, administrator, and passionate advocate. He fled the Liberian civil crisis in September 1991 while serving as Chief of Staff...
to the Chief of Police and was later granted political asylum. He holds a M.Ed. Educational Administration, B.A. in Secondary Education, B.Sc. in Political Science, and a Graduate Fellows of Portland State University Institute of Nonprofit Management Graduate. Charles and his family relocated to Portland, Oregon.
Ashkan Jafari, Board Member
Ashkan Jafari was born in Tehran, Iran and immigrated to the United States in 2001. Ashkan has been in the financial industry for 18 years. He has been with Unitus Community Credit Union for the past...
11 years and currently is the Branch Manager of two Unitus locations. Ashkan is a recent graduate of the Western CUNA Management School program from Pomona College in Claremont, California. He has also completed the Development Education Program gaining a deeper understanding of financial barriers impacting many communities, especially immigrant communities.
Ashkan has received the Community Heart Award from Unitus for his multiple contributions to the community. He is currently a JoyRx mentor for Children Cancer Association at Randall's Children Hospital. In his free time, Ashkan enjoys watching soccer, especially the Portland Timbers and Liverpool. He also enjoys traveling, taking walks with his family and ice cream.
Nish Gunasingam, Board Member
Nish is a Senior Director and Strategy Actuary at the Standard Insurance Co., where he leads the financial planning and forecasting process for their Group Benefits business, and provides financial thought leadership...
...for multi-year transformational initiatives underway.
He is a seasoned professional with over 18 years of actuarial experience including disability insurance, life insurance, pensions, enterprise risk management and consultancy work.
Nish was born in Sri Lanka, and moved with his family to England as a baby. He has a degree in Actuarial Science and Statistics from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. He moved to Portland, OR with his family in 2015.
