FBI Community Leadership Award, May 5

FBI Director James B. Comey has presented an Oregon immigration attorney, Chanpone Sinlapasai-Okamura, the Director’s Community Leadership Award for her work fostering strong relationships between law enforcement and vulnerable communities. Ms. Sinlapasai-Okamura received the honor during a ceremony at FBI Headquarters on Friday, May 1, 2015. Ms. Sinlapasai-Okamura is President of the board of directors for the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) and serves as a Commissioner for the Oregon Commission on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs. Over a period of many years, Ms. Sinlapasai-Okamura has helped to create powerful partnerships between the FBI and various diverse populations in Oregon. For more than five years, she has led a group of multi-cultural community leaders who have helped to promote and support the FBI’s Youth Leadership Academy in Portland. This program brings together high school students from throughout the region to learn about the FBI’s role in the community; to develop leadership skills; to explore various career options; and to match at-risk teens with mentors. Originally from Laos, Ms. Sinlapasai-Okamura resettled with her family as a refugee in northern California in 1980 and became the first among her relatives to pursue higher education. She graduated from Santa Clara University with a double major in English and Philosophy before earning her law degree from Lewis & Clark College in Portland. Over time, Ms. Sinlapasai-Okamura has focused her work in the areas of civil rights, international law, victims’ rights, and racism in law. For many years, she has worked with at-risk children, survivors of domestic violence, and victims of human trafficking.