Leadership Rooted in Justice: Getting to Know IMIrJ’s New Executive Director
IMIrJ is proud to welcome Kiko Garcia as our new Executive Director following a thoughtful and values-driven leadership search led by our Board. This transition reflects our continued dedication to faith-rooted organizing, immigrant justice, and collective care.
Leadership is more than a title—it’s about people, relationships, and vision. In this special Q&A, we focus on the human side of Kiko: his motivations, personal values, and his commitment to building a world where dignity, safety, and belonging are non-negotiable. We invite our community to learn more about the person stepping into this role and the path ahead for IMIrJ.
Learn more about Kiko:
What’s a small moment from your life that shaped how you show up for others today?Seeing my mom march with the United Farm Workers Union as a kid was a pivotal moment in my life. Through this movement, a marginalized community showed up for itself and gathered the support of its neighbors to fight for folks who nourish us all.
When you’re having a hard day, what helps you reset: music, movement, prayer, cooking, nature, or laughter? I think that music has always been a great form of free therapy to me in its many forms. I like reading about music history, and I enjoy writing music. I’ve been playing guitar my whole life, so I often pick up the guitar to disconnect from the world and plug into the universe. Also, taking walks, exercise, and being out in nature are great ways to be mindful for me.
What’s something people often misunderstand about you at first, and what do you wish they knew sooner? I think oftentimes people have judged me as the “help” in certain spaces because of the color of my skin.I’ve even had folks here in the Portland area call the cops on me for walking in their neighborhoods, saying I look suspicious. I wish people knew sooner that this sort of prejudice and racism can get folks like me killed or hurt. ICE is working under the same assumptions and racism, viewing anyone who looks like me as “Alien” or “Foreign.”
Who are the people (family, mentors, community) that keep you grounded, and how do they do it? Undoubtedly my siblings, and parents who sacrificed so much for me to be here in this world. I have 9 older siblings, and along with my parents, they represent to me everything that is good and just in this world. We persisted through poverty, hardship, and the phenomenon of “Immigration” to assume our presence in this world. My family’s wisdom around life and adversity have helped me to discern the own meaning of my life at times. My mom and dad used to walk out the door very early in the morning when I was a young boy. They toiled in the fields of California's South San Joaquin Valley for much of their lives. The small moment of them leaving every morning and saying to me “El que madruga dios lo ayuda,” was a grain of wisdom that always reinforced in me that boundless optimism and hope in one’s daily struggle, can help to sustain you in the journey ahead. This was the purest form of spirituality that I learned at a young age…you can’t find that in a church.
What’s a value you refuse to compromise on as a leader? I carry core values that I try to live into every day. Some of these include fairness, integrity, equality, understanding, dignity, compassion, authenticity, transparency, courage, and self-care/balance, among others. I am fallible, but I try to live these daily, which to me means living into the essence of my spirit and the story of my ancestors.
IMIrJ’s work is rooted in dignity and equity. What does “dignity” look like in everyday decisions? Dignity, to me, means humanizing folks through the values I’ve described above… to me, there is no trade-off.
What’s a lesson you learned directly from immigrant or refugee community members that stayed with you? I come from these communities, and what I’ve learned from my own family and community is that borders don’t exist when it comes to family. When folks seek out better circumstances in life, it has nothing to do with a law or system, it’s about being there for one’s family and preserving the idea of family.
What kind of workplace culture brings out your best, and what culture shuts you down? A place that overlaps with my core values above is always ideal. A trusting culture and support without micromanaging are always great. The opposite of these will surely shut me down.
What’s a community tradition, celebration, or practice that brings you joy and connection? Shabbat…Challah is so darn yummy!!! Closer to home, where I grew up in California, anyone’s birthday in my extended family is always full of goodness and is a reminder of the MEXICANISMO found in my family.
If we followed you on a weekend morning, what would we probably find you doing? Drinking coffee, walking the dog, spending time with my family, and, if the weather allows, riding my motorcycle in the Gorge. A good laugh in-between these is always ideal.
What’s a book, quote, song, or saying you return to when you need courage? John Trudell, Indigenous activist, philosopher and leader of the American Indian Movement: “We have power... Our power isn’t in a political system, or a religious system, or in an economic system, or in a military system; these are authoritarian systems... they have power... but it’s not reality. The power of our intelligence, individually or collectively IS the power; this is the power that any industrial ruling class truly fears: clear coherent human beings.”
What is something that you can share that not many people know about you, and they will be surprised when they know? I have a portrait tattoo of my mom and dad on my chest. It keeps my parents close to my heart-literally, ha! Spanish is my first language, and it’s still hard to meander between cultures even at this point in my life. I care about indigenous rights, indigeneity as a whole, and what it means to people across the world.
Looking ahead, what would you love IMIrJ to be known for in the community, and why? I would like for iIMIrJ and its community partners/organizations to be known as places that brought about hope to people in the face of despair. Also, folks can ground themselves in the knowledge and wisdom that their fellow humans at these places cared to walk alongside them.
What’s one “hope” you’re carrying into this leadership transition, and one “ask” you have of the IMIrJ community? One hope I have is that folks have the grace to see that we’re all in this together. So far as a request of the IMIrJ community, I ask that our community not let up in bearing witness to the current horrors being caused by ICE and DHS. Equally important is that this madness and terror end.
Is there a legacy that you would like to leave for your family and/or community? The most humble legacy is that decent people showed up to fight for the values of their community and cared enough for their neighbors.