Iran-born writer, educator and community organizer
Reza Jalali succeeded the late Alain Nahimana as executive director of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center. He spoke with Mainebiz about the center’s multi-pronged mission and his vision for it.
Mainebiz: How did you originally connect with the center?
Reza Jalali: I was a fan and a supporter. As an immigrant, I was a stakeholder. I watched it grow with admiration. I appreciated its mission and vision for the community and felt represented.
MB: What should readers know about the center’s mission and programs?
RJ: The Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, which was established in 2017, serves as a hub of collaboration that strengthens the immigrant community through language acquisition, economic integration and civic engagement.
EqualityMaine, in the Equality Community Center in Portland.
In addition to embracing just people from out of state, companies need to attract and retain a broader mix of diversity to survive and thrive.
The larger companies in the state, which have large human resources departments to build diversity training, have been on the forefront of DEI efforts in recent years, says Gia Drew, program director of Equality Maine.
“Major corporations have driven DEI. There’s pressure globally to be a good corporate citizen. People are making an effort and making steps in the last few years,” Drew says.
Still, work needs to be done. For example, nationally, 46% of LGBTQ+ employees are not open about their sexual orientation at work, Drew says.
Virtual conversation on Indigeneity March 3 - Mount Desert Islander mdislander.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mdislander.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“I owe such a debt to this state” Author: Aaron Tanguay (NEWS CENTER Maine) Published: 1:42 PM EST January 8, 2021 Updated: 1:42 PM EST January 8, 2021
PORTLAND, Maine When people who are new to America visit the non-profit Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center in the months ahead, they’ll find plenty of employees and volunteers who know firsthand what the immigrant experience is like, including the man at the top of the organization. Reza Jalali, who recently became executive director of the Center, arrived in Portland as a refugee from his native Iran in 1985.
He’s been here ever since, and his gratitude and affection for what Maine has given him run deep. “I love this state,” he says, his face lit up with a smile.
For Subscribers
Bill Nemitz: When immigrants like him come knocking, he’ll be waiting at Maine’s door
Reza Jalali, the new head of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, is the right person at the right time for a crucial job.
Share
To fully appreciate the new job Reza Jalali starts next week, you need to go back to the very beginning.
It was 1985. Jalali, a Kurdish refugee from Iran, had just arrived in Maine from India, where he’d gone to attend college and, with the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the subsequent war with Iraq, he could no longer return home.