Board of Directors

Carlton E. Meier, Chair

Carlton E. Meier is a financial and management consultant. Until he semi-retired, Carl was Vice President for Lutheran Social Services in New York City, following service as Director of Finance and Administration for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Carl currently chairs the endowment committee for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's New Jersey Synod, is Vice Chairman for Community Bank of Bergen County, NJ and is a board member and Treasurer for the Association for Refugee Service Professionals in Dallas. He is also a Lifetime Honorary Trustee of West Bergen Mental Healthcare, Inc., Ridgewood, NJ. Prior to joining LIRS Carl was First Vice President and corporate controller for one of the 100 largest public bank holding companies in the US that is now a part of Bank of America. Carl is a graduate of Babson College with an MBA from the Eller Graduate School of Management at the University of Arizona.

Rev. Christopher B. Morton, Vice Chair & Treasurer

Rev. Christopher (Chris) B. Morton is the executive director of Associated Ministries through  its more than 10 program areas in partnership with the City of Tacoma, Pierce County, and the State of Washington, as well as many nonprofit organizations builds community that is humane, compassionate, and just.  Chris was most recently the director of organizational development with the Minnesota Council of Churches where he oversaw refugee resettlement including its Refugee Supportive Housing Network; launched its anti-poverty initiative (The Benefit Bank), environmental health initiative, and weekly radio show Considering Faith: Common Ground for the Common Good on Air America; re-designed Partnerships with American Indian Communities, and Rural Churches-Rural Communities; and adopted its Immigration Policy Paper.

While consulting with nonprofit organizations since 2001, Chris was the part-time executive director of the Minnesota Food Association.  During the five years that Chris was director MFA, the organization opened the Agricultural Training Center, established the 200-member Great River Farm - Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), sustained its eight-year-old New Immigrant Agriculture Project, and launched Great River Foods Brokering Service.    His undergraduate degree in interpersonal communications was awarded by Ohio University, and Master of Divinity specializing in ecumenical and interfaith relations awarded from Lexington Theological Seminary.

C. Lynn Robson, President/CEO

C. Lynn Robson was appointed ISED’s President and Chief Executive Officer July 1, 2009. Lynn has a rich background in non-profit management, international development, economic development, and asset building. Her career as a non profit leader includes management of public health development in two provinces of Afghanistan for two years with Save the Children and country-wide agriculture and education program quality development for Catholic Relief Services across Afghanistan for a year and a half. Robson served as President and CEO of Gateway Development Corporation providing development services for three Montana Counties including the capital managing a substantial portfolio. She led Montana statewide organizations establishing community based SBDCs and Micro loan funds. Robson has owned a bookstore in Libby Montana and taught in public schools. Ms. Robson served on the International Board of Directors of Partners of America for two terms, an organization which forms hemispheric community development partnerships addressing indigenous people’s rights, women’s democratic action, infrastructure development such as water and sanitation, community development projects, and satellite public education. She has served in many other leadership roles, including the University of Montana’s President’s Council, Montana Community Foundation, Montana Economic Developers Association, and the Governor’s Council for Montana’s Future. She was a Presidential appointee to the U.S. Small Business Administration Region VIII Board of Advisors. Ms. Robson was a member of the founding Board of Directors of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO). Ms. Robson’s work at the Montana Department of Commerce led to two awards: a Presidential Award for Excellence in Microenterprise Development for a cost benefit analysis and a U.S. Small Business Administration national award for the outstanding business technical assistance program.

Robert E. Falb, Secretary

Robert E. Falb, Partner, Arent Fox LLC, Washington, D.C. whose practice focuses on structuring commercial transactions, unique tax problems and complex corporate and income tax aspects of acquisitions and dispositions of businesses.  Mr. Falb is a member of the American Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association.  He graduated from Harvard Law School, LLB, 1967 and Brown University, AB (magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa), 1964.  Mr. Falb serves as vice-chair and trustee of the Shakespeare Theatre Company. ISED welcomes Mr. Falb to the ISED Board of Directors August, 2009.

Carla M. Decker

Carla is President/CEO of District Government Employees Federal Credit Union (DGEFCU.) Traditionally an employer-based credit union, DGEFCU acquired a community charter intended on serving the Latino population in Washington, D.C. Carla advanced DGEFCU’s mission through ACCESO, an innovative collaborative that links multiple credit unions in wealth building opportunities for the local immigrant and under-served community.

Carla is a recipient of the ‘Credit Union Grassroots Activist’ and ‘Professional of the Year’ awards by the National Association of Federal Credit Unions and the Maryland & DC Credit Union Association, respectively. She volunteers for various organizations, serves as Vice-Chair of the Community Investment Committee of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, and as Director and founding member of the Network of Latino Credit Unions & Professionals.

Carla was born and raised in Lima, Perú. She holds a Bachelor’s in Finance and a Master’s in International Commerce & Politics. She is a Credit Union Development Educator.

Richard B. Lamporte

Richard B. Lamporte is Director for Business Development for Jhpiego, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, providing organizational leadership for developing and securing public and multilateral resources to address maternal and neonatal mortality, infectious diseases and family planning. Mr. Lamporte has served as Vice President for Development for Partners of the Americas, an organization which partners US states and central and south American countries to strengthen local government, youth employability and leadership, civil society, justice sector reform, trafficking in persons, sports for development, anti child labor, and women’s issues. Rich served as Consultant, for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as Planning Consultant to the United Nations Habitat Sustainable Cities Programme in Concepcion, Chile, as Municipal management Advisor as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Chile and planner for Comprehensive Health Investment Project (CHIP) of Virginia. Mr. Lamporte holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning and Bachelor of Arts in Literature, History and Philosophy from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a Specialization in International Development. He completed a Masters Level Study Abroad in Urban Social Movements with the Social Science Research Institute in Santiago Chile. He servers as a board member of the Team River Runner organization promoting the health and healing of injured veterans through whitewater boating, is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Portuguese and is an Eagle Scout.

Zewud Debebe

Zewud Debebe is currently the Chief Human Resources Officer at DANYA International, Inc., Silver Spring, MD. Debebe has enjoyed a career as a senior human resources leader for over ten years with major corporations in the Washington, DC area. She holds a Master of Arts, General Administration/Human Resources from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Maryland. She is a Certified Achieve Global Trainer, she holds a Certificate of Completion, English as a Second Language Tutor, is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management, HR Network, and Project SAVE. She also serves as technical advisor to Gada International a local and International human capital solution provider and as sr. business development advisor for Zebra Jobs (HR solutions and online recruitment website for Africa). ISED welcomes Ms. Debebe to the ISED Board of Directors August, 2009.

Paul Stein

Paul D. Stein currently serves as Director Division of Refugee Services as the State Refugee Coordinator for the Colorado Department of Human Services. Paul also serves as the national president of the State Coordinators of Refugee Resettlement (SCORR). Mr. Stein was appointed Executive Director for the Rocky Mountain Survivors Center (RMSC) in January 2000 which organization he led through February, 2005. Stein led RMSC to national preeminence as an innovative and effective torture treatment program assisting clients to build new futures in new American communities. Paul Stein founded and directed the Paul Stein Research and Documentation organization from 1990 to 2000. The organization provided advice and strategy to immigration attorneys nationally for affirmative and defensive asylum claims, prepared asylum specific country condition support and developed testimony of leading human rights and academic experts in support of affirmative and defensive asylum claims. Mr. Stein worked on over 1200 individual cases for documentation and over 300 individual cases for affidavits, a significant percentage of which included torture histories. Early in his career, Paul produced sculpture, furniture, jewelry and photography for exhibitions and commissions and received the Colorado Council on the Arts and Humanities 1986 Creative Fellowship. Paul studied at Reed College in Portland Oregon, the Learning Community of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio and the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York.

Jim Masters

In 1966, Mr. James I. “Jim” Masters left graduate school at the University of Kansas to work as a Field Representative for the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity in the Kansas City, MO Regional Office. He helped start several Community Action Agencies and assisted other community based advocacy groups. He says “It was the best job I ever had.” He was a Mayoral appointee in New York City government where he created and managed a new Department of Community Development with 460 staff. He has managed several large-scale projects to develop and install planning and management systems and to create new programs for Federal agencies. He was one of two principal consultants to USDA for the start-up of the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community initiative during the Clinton Administration. After passage of the government Performance and Results Act, he co-facilitated the process to create the first USDA Rural Development strategic plan, and to develop results and outcome measures for the $50 billion of rural development programs. He has a Masters Degree in Business, and is a certified Economic Development Finance Professional. He is also a board member of: Move-the-Mountain; Rotary Club of Berkeley; West Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation; and the Alta Bates Summit Hospital Foundation.

Bob Palm

Bob Palm is currently serving as a Vice President for Refugee Services of Texas, Inc., and is a Founding Member and currently serves as Board President for the Association for Refugee Service Professionals. Mr. Palm has worked in the refugee field for over twenty seven years. He has served as an Affiliate Director for Church World Service, Episcopal Migration Ministries, and as a Regional Consultant for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Prior to joining Refugee Services of Texas, Inc., Mr. Palm served as a private Consultant in the refugee field. Mr. Palm graduated from the University of Minnesota, Duluth with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and attended Graduate School at Worden’s School of Social Service, Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas.