About Us
At VAS Nebraska, our mission is to empower seniors with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions about their benefits.
In 1976, a nationwide initiative was developed by the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) to design a paralegal model volunteer program. With over 200 local chapters across North America at the time, AJLI chose 10 demonstration sites to conduct the study. The Junior League of Omaha (JLO) was selected as one of the sites for Project VIE (Volunteers Intervening for Equity).
In 1978, Project VIE was developed and actively began serving the Omaha community. The purpose of Project VIE was to utilize the expertise of older volunteers in the community and to provide information on insurance alternatives as well as legal assistance for senior citizens.
In 1980, The JLO approved continuing funds of $26,477.20 over a two-year period for VIE. At that time, VIE was incorporated as a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation.
In 1999, VIE became the regional office for the NICA (Nebraska Health Insurance Information Counseling and Assistance) program, now known as SHIIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program).
In 2006, VIE changed its name to Volunteers Assisting Seniors (VAS) and continues to serve the senior population in Douglas, Sarpy, Cass, Dodge, and Washington counties in Nebraska.
Today, VAS continues to be an advocate for senior rights and privileges, providing community education and individual counseling to seniors, caregivers and professionals who work with seniors.
OUR STAFF
Toni Roberts–Executive Director
Toni Roberts is the Executive Director of Volunteers Assisting Seniors. She joined VAS in June of 2022. Toni comes to us from OpenSky Policy Institute, a policy think tank located in Lincoln, NE, where she served as the Operations Manager. Toni has 5 children and 5 grandchildren. She enjoys spending time with family, traveling, exploring, cooking, reading, and playing board and card games. Toni also has a 17-year-old poodle named Molly who joins her at the office.
Jessica Glasser–Deputy Director
Jessica grew up in Omaha and holds a master’s degree in language teaching from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She has a background in teaching and grant writing. She joined VAS in January of 2025 and is very happy to be here. She enjoys cooking, reading, weaving, writing, and spending time with her children, family and friends.
Karen Didion–Program Director
Karen is a native of Blair, NE and earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Karen started working for VAS in September of 2022, as Operations Assistant, a temporary position that was quickly changed to a permanent position at VAS. She is responsible for maintaining our social media and website as well as scheduling our counselors and numerous other tasks. She lost her husband to ALS in 2020 and is a mom to exuberant 10-year-old boy. She enjoys spending time with her son, reading, doing projects around the house, and building Lego sets.
Grant Dewey-Operations Manager
Grant grew up in Nebraska City. He earned his bachelor’s degree in BioChemistry at Doane University and has a background in electronics. He enjoys biking, running, playing volleyball and generally being outdoors.
Theola Cooper–Communications Manager
Theola, an Omaha native, is a former Crime Prevention Specialist for the Mesa, Arizona and Omaha Police Departments. She holds a BS in Marketing Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Theola enjoys attending live music performances and spending time with friends and family, especially with her grandson.
Nubia Quiros–Outreach Coordinator
Nubia was born in Panama. She attended university in Costa Rica, obtaining her associate’s degree in Orthopedics and Traumatology. She now lives in Omaha with her husband of 30 years, together they have 3 grown sons. Nubia has worked for UNMC helping individuals with medical power of attorney and living wills. She is an active volunteer with her church, the Nebraska Alzheimer’s Association, and at the Intercultural Senior Center where she teaches Spanish. She enjoys music, doing CrossFit, and spending time with her family.
PJ Ebeler–Office Manager
PJ is an avid reader whose favorite book is Gone With the Wind. She enjoys playing cards, traveling, and spending time with her friends.
2026-2027 Board of Directors
Officers
David Levy, President
David retired from a full-time teaching career at Bellevue University in 2024. At the time of his retirement, he earned the rank of Professor Emeritus. His primary areas of interest are supply chain management, decisions sciences and strategy. He has experience in both the traditional classroom and online teaching. He previously worked for Union Pacific Railroad for 23 years. In addition to serving on the VAS board, he also volunteers to work in the various VAS Medicare programs and homestead exemption property tax applications. He also serves as a board member for Mercy Education of the System of the Americas. David has been married to his wife, Mary, for over 47 years. He has 3 adult children and six grandchildren. He is fortunate that all of their grandchildren live in Omaha and he enjoys spending time with them and watching their various sports endeavors.
Dan Lorraine, Vice President
Dan is a retired IT-industry executive, with over 40 years of experience leading sales and consulting teams in providing leading-edge solutions to enterprise customers. He has been a Medicare counselor for Volunteers Assisting Seniors/SHIP for two years. Dan has been married to his wife, Julie, for 38 years. He and Julie have three adult sons. When not working with VAS clients, Dan enjoys watching sports, woodworking, and traveling to warmer locations.
Susan Whitfield, Secretary
Susan Whitfield joined No More Empty Pots in 2010 and was instrumental in assisting with its development and growth. She has held several leadership roles and responsibilities. Currently, Susan is the Facility Manager for No More Empty Pots. She is responsible for the daily management of all of No More Empty Pots’ physical facilities, manages financial and operating budgets, provides supervision, and ensures that facilities meet government regulations and environmental, health, and security standards. Susan serves on multiple community committees and boards in the Omaha metro area and has over 40 years experience in the nonprofit sector. She serves as the Director of Operations for the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands. Susan joined VAS in 2024. Susan holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Bachelor of Science, Business, and Public Administration from the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
C.J. Guenzel, Treasurer
C.J. Guenzel serves as Treasurer of the Board of Directors for Volunteers Assisting Seniors. He has more than 15 years of experience in the trust, financial services, and investment industries and currently serves on the Board of Directors of First Nebraska Trust Company. C.J. holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® designations.
C.J. is actively involved in a number of community, professional, and philanthropic organizations, including the Dixon Family Foundation Board of Directors, the Advisory Board for the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy program through the Omaha Community Foundation, the Nebraska Community Foundation Advancement Committee, the Omaha Estate Planning Council, and the Aksarben Floor Committee. He also leads the ongoing development of Jamaica North Industrial Business Park in Lincoln. Throughout his professional and volunteer work, C.J. especially enjoys bringing people and ideas together to strengthen organizations and make a positive difference in the community.
C.J. and his wife, Cindy, live in Omaha with their three children. Together, they founded and manage Rooted Table Kitchen & Juicery, a locally owned plant-based café focused on good food, wellness, and community. Outside of work and community involvement, C.J. most enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, staying active, and supporting his children’s many activities. He has a particular interest in health and wellness, faith, philanthropy, and finding meaningful ways to give back and positively impact the people and communities around him.
Directors
Scott Berryman
Scott Berryman has been an attorney for more than 25 years. He has experience in all phases of trusts: planning and drafting, post death administration, and multi-generational trust administration as a trust officer. Scott is a Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor from the American Bankers Association, and served two terms on Schwab’s DAFgivng360 council of professional advisors. He is an active member of the Nebraska State Bar Association’s Real Estate, Probate, and Trust Section and serves on the executive committee of the Omaha Estate Planning Council. A father of four, Scott has served on several non-profit boards locally, regionally, and nationally over the last 35 years.
Shauna Dahlgren
Shauna has more than 25 years of experience assisting individuals with disabilities in navigating federal, state and local benefit systems, such as Social Security disability benefits, Medicare and Medicaid. Primarily, Shauna’s experience has been assisting Social Security disability beneficiaries utilizing available state and federal work incentives to obtain, maintain or advance in employment. Shauna is passionate about educating and empowering individuals with disabilities to make informed choices related to work, healthcare coverage and other considerations, which is carried out in her daily work and volunteer activities. She currently serves as an active SHIP volunteer through Volunteers Assisting Seniors (VAS) and as a Governor-appointed member of the Brain Injury Oversight Committee.
David Danielson
David Danielson worked as a healthcare Administrator and an executive for over 35 years. His last position was a Department Administrator for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. David has been married for 45 years and has five children and two grandchildren. David started volunteering at VAS as an Open Enrollment Counselor and now volunteers as a Senior Medicare Patrol Fraud Warrior helping beneficiaries with Fraud and scam related issue.
Alexis Kimmi
Alexis brings a background in human services and nonprofit program management to the board, currently serving as Program Manager at The Work Lab, Inc. in Omaha, where she oversees an employer-embedded coaching program. Throughout her career spanning workforce development, behavioral health, and community health, she has built relationships across industries and sectors, connecting employers, service providers, and community partners around a shared commitment to helping people thrive. That cross-sector experience and her instinct for building programs that meet people where they are is what she hopes to put to work in service of the community VAS is committed to. When she’s not at work, she’s a proud aunt to three nieces, and fur mom. She can be found chasing outdoor adventures, catching live music, and cheering on the KU Jayhawks.
Barbara Rizvi, President
Barbara serves as a Financial Planner for FNBO’s Wealth Management division. She specializes in providing comprehensive and personalized financial planning that incorporates investment, retirement, tax, protection and estate planning strategies.
Barbara’s passion for helping people make informed financial decisions reaches beyond the office. She is an active volunteer and board member of Volunteers Assisting Seniors, a local non-profit and regional SHIP office committed to making sure all seniors receive unbiased education and information regarding Medicare (benefits, enrollment, problem resolution) and property-tax relief through Nebraska’s Homestead Exemption program. She is also active on the board of her homeowner’s association and SID.
Family time is spent exploring the world with her husband, trying to master her vegetable gardening and landscaping craft, and wrangling her two rowdy pups.
Marilyn Sims
Jeff Smith
My career as a healthcare executive includes being responsible for hospital-based rehab centers in Montana and Illinois and a large state operated facility and veterans’ home in Minnesota and a retirement community in Mississippi. Prior to my retirement I served as the administrator of the Eastern Nebraska Veterans Home in Bellevue
Prior to my US career I served as a public health consultant in Jordan and Lesotho (Southern Africa) and as consultant to church health missions in Malawi (Southern Africa) and Papua New Guinea.
I have been happily married to my wife, Esther, for 55 years. We have 2 adult sons -1 in Los Angeles and 1 here with 4 grandchildren. When not volunteering with VAS (truly a great organization), our church or local service organization my wife and I spend a lot of time seeing the world-so far, we have been to 79 countries.
Looking for a new career? We are hiring for the following positions:
Currently Not Hiring
Please click on the link above for a full job description.
To Apply:
Please send your cover letter and resume to: director@vas-nebraska.org with the job title in the subject line, or mail to:
Volunteers Assisting Seniors
Attn: Executive Director
900 S 74th Plaza, Suite 403
Omaha, NE 68114
Please, no phone calls.
Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP): Trained and certified volunteers and staff provide individual counseling and educational presentations to help seniors and caregivers navigate the complex Medicare system, enabling them to make informed choices from the vast array of plan options available. Assistance is also available to help with fraud and abuse issues, billing problems, appeal rights, and enrollment in financial assistance programs for low-income beneficiaries. In fiscal year 25/26, VAS had over 10,000 Medicare contacts including people approaching Medicare eligibility, Medicare beneficiaries, adult children of aging parents, healthcare providers, and caregivers resulting in an estimated monetary impact in healthcare savings of $3.7 million.
Homestead Exemption Application Assistance Program: Many seniors are not aware of this program or do not feel comfortable completing the application form to apply for property tax relief through Homestead Exemption. As a result, they may forgo the opportunity to potentially save hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars in property taxes. Starting in March and running through the end of June, VAS staffs satellite assistance sites throughout Omaha and outlying areas with trained volunteers to assist low to moderate income senior homeowners with the Homestead Exemption application process. This year, VAS scheduled 1,340 in-person and phone appointments for individuals with questions regarding Homestead Exemption. From these appointments, 1,167 people submitted a Homestead Exemption Application. We do yet have a property tax savings estimate for this year’s applicants. Last year, applicants through our program saved an estimated $4.2 million. We anticipate property tax savings for this year’s applicants to be even more substantial.
Navigators Program: Trained VAS volunteers help eligible beneficiaries navigate the Social Security and Medicare online platforms. Assistance includes answering basic questions, creating an account, troubleshooting, accessing information, and applying for Low Income Subsidy and Medicaid.
Speakers Bureau: VAS staff and volunteers lead presentations and workshops on Medicare Basics, New to Medicare, Medicare Open Enrollment, and Fraud and Scam Prevention at senior centers, community and service organizations, and partner locations throughout our five-county service area. In fiscal year 25/26, VAS reached more than 3,780 people through 137 classes, presentations, and public events.
Frequently Asked Questions
Discover answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about how we assist seniors.
What services does VAS Nebraska offer?
We provide Medicare counseling, assistance with Homestead Exemption, and educational opportunities for seniors. Click here for more information.
How can I schedule an appointment?
You can schedule an appointment by calling us at (402) 444-6617, email info@vasnebraska.org, or fill out this form.
Is there a cost for your services?
Our services are free of charge, we are a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering seniors with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions about their benefits.
Who can benefit from your services?
Our services are tailored to seniors looking for information and assistance in accessing Medicare and other benefits.
How can I volunteer with VAS Nebraska?
Click here or contact us directly to learn more about volunteer opportunities.
What is Homestead Exemption?
Homestead Exemption is a property tax relief program for eligible seniors and others.
Click here for more information.