“Nahla Kayali one of Orange County’s 125 most influential people for 2023″

Orange County’s 125 most influential

Meet Orange County’s 125 most influential people for 2023

Anaheim leader has helped immigrants, refugees find their place for 25 years.

For 25 years, Kayali has helped refugees and newcomers to America in Orange County find their footing. An immigrant herself, Kayali, who started the nonprofit Access California Services, has helped more than 13,000 people start new lives, obtain skills and find jobs.

With a folding chair, a fold-out table, a phone and a how-to-start-a-nonprofit book, Nahla Kayali founded her organization in 1998 that helps refugees and immigrants access the services they need.

More than two decades later,  Access California Services has grown to become a “village of services” that helps more than 13,000 people a year start new lives here and find jobs, learn new skills and languages.

The nonprofit offers direct social services to immigrants and refugees, primarily from Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian communities, and provides a guiding hand for navigating through life’s challenges in a new area. They “welcome people from all over the globe” to get social services in Anaheim, Kayali said.