Our Staff

As a child, Cindy worked with her sister Karyn to assist her in learning, growing, experiencing life, and being a good sister. Later, she served as Karyn’s guardian. Cindy worked direct care in both day and residential settings. She managed group homes and in-home services. She was a surveyor for the State of Nebraska–assessing compliance for providers and assisting them to meet those requirements. Cindy went back to the private sector where she provided quality assurance activities and training for a local DD provider, later becoming the Area Director for their Lincoln program. Cindy was then recruited by a national DD provider. She served as their State Director for seven years, before deciding she was not really corporate material. Her family also opened their home to an elderly man in services, providing Extended Family Home services, now known as Shared Living.

As the months passed, many of Cindy’s staff contacted her asking when she was going to start her own agency, so they could transfer to her. Cindy opened Extended Families of Nebraska, LLC on 01/01/2011, contracting with Shared Living Providers. Abilities, EFN’s day services, opened its doors on 04/14/2014. Cindy is very proud of her amazing leadership team, our dedicated Shared Living Providers, and all of EFN’s staff, who work very hard to provide the highest level of quality of care possible.

On a personal note, Cindy has one beautiful, amazing daughter who is grown and on her own, two sweet little Pomeranians who keep her company in the evening, a canary who is an amazing singer, and a gecko, who well, is her daughters and Cindy’s for now. Cindy loves being outdoors, gardening, swimming, and traveling to our national parks, as well as relaxing on the beaches of the Gulf coast.

Most importantly, Cindy wants to be sure that Extended Families of Nebraska provides the best quality of care possible for people living with disabilities and treats all subcontractors and staff with a high level of dignity and respect, striving towards “Making a Positive Difference, One Family at a Time!”

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Lia enjoys nature, animals of all kinds, and loves to paint, draw, and do any type of arts and crafts whenever she gets the chance to do so. Lia has been around individuals with developmental disabilities her whole life and loves to care for people. She has always enjoyed this field of work and wants to continue to build a career for herself around this field. She is a fast learner who is very willing to learn and help our team!

She transferred to the ILC here in Lincoln, where she moved up and stayed for almost 7 years. While with ILC, she held the role of a Vocational DSP, a Residential DSP, Vocational Manager, and finally a Residential Coordinator. Sarah plans on using her variety of experiences in the field to continue helping one family at a time, extending more person-centered options to people supported in rural settings, and continuing to build top-notch day programs with well-trained and appreciated staff.

In Sarah’s spare time, she loves to spend time with her wild toddler, significant other, family, and friends. Traveling, planning trips, reading, her planner, and attempting to keep plants alive are a few of her favorite things. Having worked a variety of different part-time jobs throughout the years, nothing has ever come close to filling my cup the way the DD field does. She often jokes, “I don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t involved with people with disabilities”, but it’s not really a joke. She loves her job and how no two days are ever quite the same. She is very excited to be onboard as the Area Director of a company that places the focus on person-centered supports with such a well-qualified team of people carrying out the mission.

Savino brings with him a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Nebraska, a bright shining smile, and a can-do attitude. Savino is very pleased with the welcoming environment at EFN. His goals for his future are to continue to expand the Day Service program at EFN and to keep giving individuals who attend the day program a reason to smile.
Savino has been in Nebraska since his mid-teenage years. Prior to living in Nebraska, he spent years in Perth Amboy, New Jersey and Hampton, Georgia. In his spare time, Savino is a dedicated family man. He is married to his amazing wife, Rebecca, and recently, they added a new light to their lives, a daughter, Saige. When Savino is not busy attending to his family and work, he loves to spend time cooking in the kitchen.

Alexus has gained experience through working at ILC, doing respite care through DHHS, and most recently, working at Region V services. She really enjoyed her time at Region V, but she is excited to start her new journey with our family here at EFN.

Born and raised in Nebraska, Alexus is the oldest of four siblings. She always took on the caregiving role in her family. She adores spending time with her very funny three-year-old daughter Namkio.

Alexus has gained experience through working at ILC, doing respite care through DHHS, and most recently, working at Region V services. She really enjoyed her time at Region V, but she is excited to start her new journey with our family here at EFN.

Born and raised in Nebraska, Alexus is the oldest of four siblings. She always took on the caregiving role in her family. She adores spending time with her very funny three-year-old daughter Namkio.