Our Staff & Board

Barbara Prose - Executive Director (She/Elle/Her)

We, the Board of Directors of Oregon’s Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ) are very pleased to introduce our new Executive Director, Barbara Prose. Reverend Prose comes to us from Tulsa, OK, land of the Cherokee, Muscogee Creek and Osage Nations, where she co-led a 2000-member multi-cultural, multi-racial congregation with a staff of twenty or more. With a Rabbi and a Lutheran Minister, Barbara also co-founded and served as the co-chair of the board of El Centro: New Sanctuary Empowerment Center in Tulsa. Organizing started in 2016 with weekly vigils in front of the Tulsa County jail. In 2020, an expanding alliance of congregations, partners and individual supporters celebrated together when the federal 287(g) agreement between the Sheriff's Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was discontinued. In 2021, El Centro became a 501 C-3 and has evolved into a community, learning and worker center. Because of who she is and the life she has lived, Barbara brings energy, experience, and inspiration to our organization. We hope you enjoy beginning to get to know her, through her answers to our questions below.

Benjamin Ficklin - Accompaniment Program Coordinator (They/Theirs)

Though originally born in Portland, Benjamin arrives at IMIrJ after years of border justice organizing in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Beyond running the Accompaniment Program, they focus on grassroots community organizing with the International Migrants Alliance & disaster-relief mutual aid campaigns. Their life as a poet informs their organizing; their hope for a better world is continually transformed by poetry.

Alyssa Walker Keller- Asylum Seeker Support Project Coordinator (She/Her)

Alyssa has been part of the IMIRJ community since 2017 and has been working with immigrant communities for 20 years. She  currently holds dual roles as both the IMIRJ Asylum Seeker Support Project coordinator, and as an organizer in East Multnomah County for the Leaven Community Land and Housing Coalition. She is passionate about learning, listening to people's stories over coffee, the outdoors, and creating space and belonging for all in the beautiful state of Oregon. 

Alaide Vilchis Ibarra - Campaign Director for Value our Families (She/Her/Ella)

Alaide Vilchis Ibarra (she/hers/ella) is the Campaign Director for Value our Families, an organization that exists to protect, preserve, and strengthen the family immigration system and promote an immigration system that is informed by love, empathy, and justice. Before moving to Oregon, Alaide lived and worked in Washington, DC where she led U.S. immigration and foreign policy work in collaboration with Central American and Mexican organizations. In DC, she witnessed how the power of the people shifts systems and saw how divorced policy can be from the communities it affects. This experience shaped her commitment to movement building. Alaide found her voice as an advocate testifying in the Kansas legislature to protect access to higher education for undocumented immigrants like her. She continues to learn how being an immigrant (ni de aqui, ni de alla) roots her as a leader and a person in the world.

Marvin Peña - BilingualCultural Communication Specialist (He/Him/El) - Hablo español

Marvin is an experienced communications professional with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Venezuela and an Associate in Arts in Communication Studies from Clark College in Vancouver, WA. Currently serving as the Bilingual Spanish Communications Coordinator at Multnomah County in Portland, Oregon, Marvin excels in crafting strategic communications and fostering collaborations with community-based organizations to ensure culturally responsive messaging. As the Founder of Conexiones, Marvin supports small businesses and organizations in developing effective communication strategies. With a track record of success in fundraising, volunteer coordination, and community organizing, Marvin is dedicated to driving positive change through inclusive communication practices.

Keren Rodríguez - Community Organizer

(she/her)

is a community organizer that seeks to amplify voices of minorities. Her organizing work recently led her to partner with Washington County in creating a safe rest village in faith steward land where she serves as a pastor half time in Aloha Oregon. Her heart for immigrant justice comes from her experience as a first generation latina. 

Her passion to understand communities has taken her to study at Global studies centered in development in Latin America at Portland State University. Currently, she is working on getting a Master in divinity degree program at Claremont School of Theology in CA. Keren brings her experience as a community organizer and ecumenist, while also striving to continue doing anti racist work, community bridging and belonging. 

Although she keeps busy, her favorite time of the day is when she spends time with her six-year old daughter Ximena reading folktales from all over the world. 

IMIrJ Board of Directors / Mesa Directiva de IMIrJ:

Cindy Quale

“I began volunteering with IMIrJ in 2019 and I have been so impressed with IMIrJ’s vision to build a movement for immigrant justice that brings together the immigrant community and its allies in one movement led by immigrants. I  also feel that IMIRJ strives in a real way to not just do advocacy work but also the work to change ourselves which is a real way to change society. We cannot just change the laws and policy we have to change ourselves and IMIrJ is teaching me how to do this. I joined the board of IMIrJ recently in October 2022 and I really like that it is a place where we can speak honestly to each other about difficult issues.”

Cindy has been drawn to work for immigrant rights because all four of her grandparents were Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe escaping severe persecution: they were allowed to immigrate and find a home here and Cindy wants others to be able to find their home as well.

Cindy worked for 35 years as a physician assistant primarily in cardiology and she retired from the Portland VA Medical Center In 2021. She has one son who lives in NYC.

Tori Hiller

“I enjoy getting to know the other board members and working alongside them to support IMIrJ's mission. I bring passion, joy, connection and fellowship to this work. I have been involved with IMIrJ in many different ways and bring lots of experience. I am happy to support IMIrJ in this transition space in any way I can.”

Victoria (Tori) Hiller is a Portland native who is passionate about Interfaith work and Human rights. She has been involved with IMIrJ since 2012, starting out as an intern and then became a board member in 2015. She is a member of First Immanuel Lutheran church and works with Multnomah County. She loves to travel, go car camping, and explore new restaurants in and around Portland.

Bob Brown

“In addition to organizing experience, I bring to the organization systems of thinking. I have worked with IMIrJ to mature its systems and its processes. I worked with the leadership to incorporate and to receive our 501(C)3 status. I worked with the board to decide on hiring our first coordinator, a half-time staff person. I helped decide on and implement our member database (Neon) and moved us to QuickBooks. I changed my roles as the board has changed its perspectives from a hands-on board to a governance board. And I have been fortunate to see the organization’s growth into a state-wide organization.”

Bob is an engineer by profession that worked in high-tech for 25 years. He received his training as an organizer through his congregation’s affiliation with the Metropolitan Alliance for Common Good (MACG). After returning from a trip to Uganda with others from his congregation in 2008, Bob connected with IMIrJ as an organization that they thought would be a good match for continued human rights work. He started volunteering with IMIrJ (called the Oregon New Sanctuary Movement) at that time. Bob loved the organization’s mission and the people. He became a board member and treasurer in 2012 and board chair in 2020.

Our Allies

IMIrJ is part of a vibrant network of groups working for immigrant justice across Oregon and the Northwest region.

Partners