Globally-Focused IANR Staff

Brianne Wolf, M.S. 

Coordinator, Global Learning & Engagement Strategies, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources & Agricultural Research Division

Brianne works to connect, collaborate and communicate in the sphere of the Institute's global engagement. She works closely with Liana and her respective team to support efforts in global research, extension and capacity building, while also leading the effort to help students go global through their coursework, on-campus experiences, and virtual and physical exchange. She supervises the global-focused student interns and volunteers (currently the CASNR Ambassadors) in addition to collaborating with the broader IANR and university community to develop global initiatives. 

Hailing from rural Nebraska, Brianne brings both local knowledge and an international lens to the team. Prior to joining IANR, Brianne worked for Spain's Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (in the La Rioja locality) for three years in addition to traveling to over 35 countries across Europe and the MENA region. Her U.S. professional experience includes new venture development with an environmental nonprofit and doing social media, writing and strategy work for several companies in the Lincoln/Omaha area. She now brings a different regional focus and capability to the team being based in Mexico City, a bustling hub for engagement in Latin America.

Brianne holds two degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a Bachelor of Journalism degree in public relations and advertising, and an M.S. in natural resource sciences with a focus on human dimensions and global One Health. She speaks Spanish.

Contact Brianne about:

• Global experiential learning, coursework and on/off-campus activities that develop global competencies 
• Global professional development opportunities or career discussion 
• Sharing about your international activity (as a faculty, staff or student)
• Specific country inquiries of IANR faculty/staff engagement and connections
• Interest in or work related to the Sustainable Development Goals (as a student, staff or faculty) 

Contact Brianne

Sylvana Airan

Global Learning Hub and Rwandan Scholar Program Coordinator, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

Sylvana is the primary lead for the CASNR Undergraduate Scholarship Program (CUSP) for Rwandan students, managing student support efforts administered through CASNR, including recruitment, facilitation of admission, coordination of academic advising, creation of internship opportunities and assisting students identifying career opportunities in Rwanda.

Sylvana migrated from Pakistan and joined UNL as a student in 1979. At UNL, she was a student of theatre and has applied this line of studies to coordinating and directing a play for the past 29 years for the community of Lincoln and neighboring towns and states. In 1983, she joined UNL Housing as an accounts specialist and in 1985 was promoted to the position of Assistant Director of Business-Contracts and Student Services. In that position, she implemented the contractual agreements for UNL Housing with various universities including Senshu University (China), Nanzan (Japan) and the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. She also coordinated the housing and billing for students under the ISEP (exchange program) and Intsormil (Sorghum Millet International research) programs. She has worked closely with UNL students from Oman, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Rwanda in providing housing accommodations and assisting them in acclimating to UNL and Lincoln. She has served on the International Student Advisory board and currently serves on the International Student Services task force. Sylvana was born in Pakistan and as an American, has travelled extensively around the world to Kenya, Brazil, Turkey, India, Greece, Israel, Germany, Rome and others.

Sylvana has a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Karachi – Pakistan. While English is her mother tongue, she can converse in Urdu and Hindi.

Contact Sylvana about:

• The Rwandan Scholars Program or CUSP
• Reserving and utilizing space in the Global Learning Hub
• Connecting with local host families

Contact Sylvana

Shabani Muller, M.S.

Global Learning Hub Graduate Assistant

Muller has hands-on experience on biomedical researches focusing on malaria and neglected infectious diseases. He uses interdisciplinary approach to confirm pathogens circulating at human and animal’s interface.

Prior to coming to UNL, Muller worked at PATH, Tanzania as laboratory technical officer at the USAID Boresha Afya project, a five-year project funded by USAID to improve quality of health care in Tanzania. Muller has also worked for several years with the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and supported four international teams on biomedical and agricultural research projects including NIH funded project (MOMS), Afrique One Project, Ebola and HPV vaccine trials. In 2015, Muller was awarded research training fellowship by the government of India and spent his time in India learning and researching on neglected infectious diseases affecting agro-pastoralists in India by collaboration with scientists from the ICAR, National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Diseases Informatics (NIVEDI), Bengaluru. In addition, under sponsorship of WelcomeTrust through the Southern African Center for Infectious diseases Surveillance (SACIDS), Muller has participated in research on neglected infectious diseases circulating among agro pastoralists living in Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem located in Western part of Tanzania.

He holds Master’s degree from Sokoine University of Agriculture, and Bachelor's of Science degree from the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). He can speak Swahili and French.