PKS International & Community Engagement Liaisons
PKS International LLC is the fiscal agent and project management entity for the Community Engagement Liaison Services (CELs) program. It is an independent, woman-of-color-owned Portland-based company formed in 1996. PKS International LLC IS WBE/DBE CERTIFIED (#: 11240) and certified with the federal (DUNS #: 016019213, CAGE#: 8ZQJ5). CELs, formed in 2014, is a community engagement program dedicated to serving people who immigrated to the U.S. and who live in underserved communities. With consistent training, active involvement with local agencies, associations and partners, CELs has proven itself to be an effective avenue for authentic public participation.
We are grateful to work with Ping Khaw who provides a wealth of knowledge for projects and laughter for our team. Ping has an extensive background in project management, conference planning and workshop development. Ping was born in Malaysia and speaks 3 languages and 4 dialects. She has served on 3 commissions, 8 non-profit agencies, and co-founded 2 non-profit agencies in the past 30 years.
Over the course of multiple projects, the Samara team has been able to work with a number of talented Community Engagement Liaisons.
More about Community Engagement Liaisons:
CELs liaisons are comprised of community leaders and activists from historically underrepresented groups. Currently, the CELs program has over 80 liaisons. 95% of the liaisons are immigrants or people of color who are fluent in their native language(s) and active in their local community. A majority of our liaisons are women with extensive experience and subject matter expertise. CELs confirms that the people it hires are skilled and prepared to fulfill the needs of the CELs program and its clients. In addition, the CELs program includes liaisons from communities living with disabilities, indigenous/tribal people, as well as LGBTQ and other underserved communities.
CELs provide effective avenues for authentic public participation. Sharing public services, benefits, and burdens more equitably requires intentional engagement of underserved communities. Having our many communities participate fully in our robust public life requires authentic partnerships. Simply hiring an interpreter to speak to populations you hope will show up is not true civic engagement and will not produce equity. CELs liaisons, on the other hand, can identify specific ethno-cultural and language communities within targeted service areas to encourage and develop genuine and representative public participation. CELs liaisons are comprised of community leaders or activists from historically underrepresented groups. Currently CELs program has over 80 liaisons. The program has recruited and trained liaisons throughout the states of Oregon and Washington, with the majority of liaisons residing in Multnomah, Washington, Clark and Clackamas counties.
Communities served: Languages spoken by these liaisons include Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, Karen, Nepali, Russian, Ukrainian, Somali, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Toishanese, Zomi, Burmese, Mon, Vietnamese, Tongan, Micronesian, Chuukese, Cambodian (Khmer), Lao, Hmong, Mien, Thai, Tibetan, Japanese, Korean, Amharic, Mai Mai, Swahili, Tigrinya, Bhutanese, Tagalog, Turkish, Armenian, Romanian etc. Recently added: Liaisons that serve underserved African-Americans, Native/Tribal communities, communities living with disabilities & LGBQ communities.
Website: https://celsservices.com