Christine Kramer

Executive Board Vice Chair 

Christine Kramer is a Program Officer for Refugee Services with the US Committee for Refugees & Immigrants (USCRI), a national refugee resettlement agency based out of Arlington, VA. She holds a Bachelor's in Photography from Columbia College Cohicago and a Master's in Public Administration with a Nonprofit Management concentration from UNO.

She has been working in refugee resettlement for 4yrs, starting at The Refugee Empowerment Center in November 2021, housing the influx of Afghans coming into the Omaha area. She was an active member of the Housing Committee under the Omaha Refugee Task Force, and a part of a housing subcommittee for a statewide immigration coalition in Nebraska. She moved to Arlington in January 2024 to join USCRI as a Housing Program Officer where she conducted needs assessments & research on different housing models utilized within refugee resettlement across the US.

Following the massive layoffs in Jan 2025, Christine moved back to Omaha and was called back to USCRI in May 2025. Her current role involves meeting regularly with local resettlement agencies across the US to provide technical assistance, training, and monitoring & compliance of Refugee Services programming. She has experience in project management, program implementation, crisis response, and advocating with Congressional officials in DC. 

Amanda McLaughlin

Executive Board Sectretary

Amanda McLaughlin works as an English Learners teacher in Omaha Public Schools. She has experience working with many different immigrant and refugee populations in Omaha, and extensive knowledge of curriculum and strategies used to teach language to all levels of learners. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with minors in Criminal Justice and Ethnic Studies from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, and a Masters of Arts in Teaching with endorsements in 5-9 Social Sciences and K-12 English as a Second Language from College of Saint Mary. Amanda is a strong advocate for public education and diversity in our local community.

Mary Royers

Executive Board Chair

Mary Royers is the education coordinator for Habitat for Humanity Omaha. She has been in education for 13 years, teaching English to refugees and immigrants, designing curriculum for Omaha Public Schools and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and coaching teachers across the country to make their classes more accessible for English learners. She also consults with other local non-profits part time in advocacy spaces for making events and programs more appropriate for linguistically and culturally diverse attendants. Mary has a masters degree in Bilingual Education from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and is a fierce advocate of preserving and celebrating the cultures of immigrant and refugee families as they begin their new lives in the United States. 

Maisam Farzam

Maisam Farzam

Youth Development & Education Specialist 

Staff member

Asia Mohammadi 

Asia Mohammadi 

Case Manager & Administrative Assistance 

Elizabeth Sawhney

Executive Board Member at Large

Elizabeth Sawhney brings a strong understanding of leadership, strategic planning, process development, and volunteer management to the Nebraska Afghan Community Center Board of Directors.

Professionally, she works at OPPD in the Technology & Security department as an ITSM Process Manager, where she is responsible for Process Management, Technology Incident Coordination, Problem, Incident, and Knowledge Management, and Technology Change Control. Previously, Liz has worked throughout the business and educational sectors in Omaha, including at CSG International, Nebraska Business Development Center, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She served as an AmeriCorps VISTA service member working with the refugee resettlement department at Lutheran Family Services in 2013.

When not working, she enjoys spending time with her son, volunteering, watching movies, and traveling.

Mohammad Sahil

Founder & Executive Director

Mohammad Sahil is a highly experienced combat interpreter/translator who served with the US military for nearly a decade in Afghanistan. He, along with his wife, immigrated to the United States through the Special Immigration Visa(SIV) program and settled initially in Albany, New York. After a year, they made the decision to relocate to Omaha, Nebraska.

Before joining Lutheran Family Services as an AmeriCorps volunteer, Mohammad worked and gained valuable skills while working at Walmart and First Data. With almost 9 years of experience working with refugee and immigrant populations, Mohammad has had various roles, including post 90-day case management and contributing to educational programming. Currently, he is pursuing a degree in human services and is dedicated to expanding his knowledge in this field.

In addition to his work with Omaha Public School as a social worker and interpreter/translator, Mohammad's outstanding contributions were recognized when he was awarded the 2021 Excellent Service Award by OPS. His passion for serving the community is evident as he actively participates as the Vice Chair for the Omaha Refugee Taskforce (ORTF). Additionally, he serves on the Great Plains IDeA-CTR Community Advisory Board (CAB), where he has the opportunity to contribute to valuable decision-making processes.

Overall, Mohammad Sahil is a dedicated and highly accomplished individual who continues to make a significant impact in his community through his extensive experience and active involvement in various organizations. He is currently running the NACC management affairs. 

Manizha Ahmadi

Executive Board Member at Large

Manizha Ahmadi is from Afghanistan and speaks Persian, Pashto and English. Manizha graduated from the faculty of Public Policy and Administration in Afghanistan. Before coming to the US, Manizha worked as a reporter and as a trainer and assistant for Peace Building and Conflict Resolution Management at GIZ-Zfd. Manizha is passionate about community service and helping others. 

Tin Nguyen

Executive Board Treasurer 

Tin Nguyen is a Senior Research Associate in the Management Department of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Business and at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education (NCITE) Center. As a Penn State and Creighton University alum, he has assisted numerous community-level efforts in Pennsylvania and Nebraska.