The Center, a non-profit organization, is registered under the name Orgyen Chogyi Chonzo Ling, and was founded in 1988 by Chogyi Trinchen Rinpoche at the time of his visit to Portland. Chogyi Trichen Rinpoche is one of the greatest living masters of Tibetan Buddhism and the Sakya lineage. He was a teacher of both His Holiness Sakya Trizin and Her Eminence Jetsun Kusho Chime Luding during their early training years.

The first director and resident teacher for the Portland Sakya Center was Jared Rhoton (Sonam Tenzin), who, during his lifetime, was a skilled translator and accomplished scholar. The current director and resident teacher for the Center is Ani Gilda Paldron Taylor, an ordained Tibetan Buddhist nun, appointed to the position in 1991 by His Holiness Sakya Trizin.