Mr. Sokhom Tauch

Sokhom Tauch is the Executive Director of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO).

He has worked in refugee resettlement since coming to the United States himself. (As a Cambodian naval officer, Tauch fled the country in a navy vessel and was one of the original “boat people”, sailing first to Malaysia and then to Subic Bay, Philippines in 1976.)

He received his MBA from Marylhurst College in 1993. Under his leadership IRCO has expanded its services in many areas including youth services, senior services, community development, folk arts, domestic violence services, citizenship, environmental justice, and volunteer programming. In 2001, Tauch worked with the IRCO staff and board to purchase its own building and community center for the Portland refugee and immigrant community.

Before becoming executive director, he was IRCO’s fiscal manager for over 15 years and he has provided numerous fiscal management workshops to refugee self-help organizations in Oregon, Texas, and Florida.

Tauch is active in the Cambodian community both locally and nationally and helped the Oregon Cambodian community to find financing to build a traditional Buddhist temple or wat. This temple, like those in Cambodia, has become the center for Oregon’s Cambodian community.