About Us
mission
history
Our Staff
our board
Publications
Careers
At VAS Nebraska, we are dedicated to empowering senior citizens by providing them with the resources and support they need to make informed decisions about their benefits. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for seniors through education and personalized assistance, ensuring they have the confidence to navigate complex systems with ease.
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.
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.
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.
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
Theola Cooper-Communications Manager
Theola, an Omaha native, is a former Crime Prevention Specialist for the Mesa, Arizona and Omaha Police Departments. She has a BS in Marketing Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Theola joined VAS in July of 2026.. She enjoys going to live performances, spending time with friends and family, especially her grandson.
Grant Dewey-Operations Manager
PJ Ebeler–Office Manager
Hannah Pickell–Operations Assistant
2025-2026 Board of Director
Officers
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 Volunteer’s 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.
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. 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
Directors
Jeff Smith
My career as a health care 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.
Rick Scofield
Rick has been with VAS for 20 years and has participated in many of the changes that have ensued during those years. After retiring from an engineering career at OPPD, Rick joined VAS as a volunteer in February 2006. He immediately took the initial SHIP training to become a SHIP counselor. This was the first year of the Medicare Prescription Drug Program when all Medicare recipients were required to sign up by May 15, so VAS was extremely busy. In addition, Rick became a counselor for the Homestead Assistance Program and the Conservatorship Program. He was initially elected to the board of directors in 2006 and has filled all of the officer positions.
David Levy
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.
Colm Breathnach
Scott Berryman
VAS Brochure
VAS Newsletters
September 2025
August 2025
July 2025
June 2025
May 2025
Nebraska SHIP Newsletters
Medicare Minute
Nebraska SHIP SMP Podcast
Looking for a new career? We are hiring for the following positions:
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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 403Omaha, NE 68114
Please, no phone calls.