Saboor Sakhizada is a Program Manager for the Entrepreneurship and Small Business department at the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families. He was born in the Herat province of Afghanistan and graduated from high school in the capital city of Kabul. As a seventeen-year-old, he started working with the US military and the Department of State as an office assistant. In 2010, Saboor was promoted to a full-time cultural advisor, teaching Afghan culture and counterinsurgency classes to NATO and US soldiers. He was promoted in 2012 and tasked with helping to implement counterinsurgency theory on behalf of USAID. Saboor served in this role until he left the country. While in Afghanistan, Saboor began coursework at the American University of Afghanistan.

Sakhizada immigrated to the United States in 2014. Within weeks, Saboor was volunteering for InterFaith Works’ Center for New Americans and was later named the Match Grant Coordinator for the Center. In 2017 Mr. Saboor successfully transitioned from the Matching Grant program and began his work as one of the nine Community Navigators in the State of New York. Once in the United States, Saboor resumed his education and received his associate’s degree from Onondaga Community College in May 2016, his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and, in 2019, his Executive Master of Public Administration and Certificate of Advanced Study on conflict resolution from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School.

In 2010 during his time and service to US Military, he was the recipient of the Superior Civilian Service Award, and in 2015 he received the Community Service Award from the Turkish Culture Center.

Specialty Areas: 

• Diversity and Inclusion
• Stabilization and Governance
• Immigration
• Teaching