Meet The Team

Sarah was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 2007, and her Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling in 2013, both from the University of North Texas. It was during her Master's program that Sarah first learned about AFIL. After completing an Internship, she served as the Admissions and Assessment Coordinator upon coming on full time. She made stops as Director of Admissions and Program Director, before becoming Executive Director in 2017. Sarah feels blessed to have been given the opportunity to stay and grow with the organization, and is thrilled to now see how her passion can be applied working with this wonderful population. 

Nadja was born in Fort Smith, AR, but was raised in Dallas, TX. Growing up in a large family, she discovered very early on that serving others was her passion. She attended the University of ARKANSAS at Fort Smith (UAFS) from 2012-2014 as a psychology major. Shortly after, she began working at AFIL as a Life Skills Mentor and the Administrative Clerical Assistant to the Executive Director. It was at this point that she realized she had a natural gift for working with such a wonderful population. She was promoted to Program Coordinator in January of 2016 and then Program Director in June of 2017. Nadja is an incredibly talented and driven individual who constantly seeks to improve the services we provide at AFIL. Through the years, she has acquired the nickname "The Resident Whisperer" because she pushes the residents to be their best selves and approaches every challenge with enthusiasm.

Toi is originally from Tacoma, Washington. For much of Toi's life, she traveled the world as a military dependent. Throughout her travels, she credits her frequent moves as creating essential life skills in adaptability, social abilities, confidence, and a heightened appreciation for diversity. In 2004, she earned a bachelor’s in human services from Wayland Baptist University while stationed in Ft. Wainwright, Alaska. And in 2021, she obtained a Master of Education in Social and Emotional Learning from the University of Washington- Tacoma in Tacoma, Washington. Through her professional trajectory, she assists underrepresented populations in overcoming obstacles that would interfere, delay, defer, or halt their attainment of education, career, and life goals through advising, mentoring, counseling, coordination, and advocacy. Toi is honored to be a part of the AFIL family as the Program Coordinator, where she will use her platform to support and encourage the residents to be the best versions of themselves.