Kayse Jama was born into a nomad family in Somalia. After graduating from high school as the civil war erupted, he lived as a refugee for many years before arriving in the United States and settling in Portland, Oregon in 1998. He began working at the Lutheran Community Services Northwest helping new refugees adapt to life in the United States. In 2003, he co-founded the Center for Intercultural Organizing, now known as Unite Oregon, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to uplifting all Oregonians.
