Ana Hernandez Blackstad is the Director of Student Advising & Support Services at Cascadia Community College in Bothell , WA. Ana's responsibilities include supervising the academic advising, Running Start, high school completion, counseling, and disability support services areas. Ana also teaches College 101 during fall and winter quarters.  Prior to joining Cascadia, Ana was the Manager of Online Student Services for WashingtonOnline, a project of the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges . Ana's previous career experience includes residence life, academic and career advising, Web site development, training and online teaching. Ana earned a B.A. in History and Fine Arts from Creighton University and an M. Ed. in Student Development Administration from Seattle University.

Sally Garner serves as an interim director of student services in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. In addition to advising and supervisory responsibilities, she teaches the journalism transfer seminar and is one of the voices behind "Quick Question: The jcomm advising podcast." A NACADA member since 2006, she has served on regional conference planning committees and has been a proposal reader for the 2008 annual conference. In 2007, Sally led the NACADA Transfer Student Advising Commission's efforts to provide a vignette for the new Faculty Advising Resource DVD. She enjoys spending her free time with her husband trying new recipes, attending musical theater performances, visiting zoos and aquariums, and challenging each other on Sporcle. 

Karen Gillespie has been an academic advisor in the College of Business and Economics (CBE) at the University o Idaho since 2000.  Although she works with students in many capacities, but primarily advises freshman and sophomore students.  Karen is dedicated to helping students succeed in their academic careers and encourages students to make the most of their education through activities such as involvement with students clubs, study abroad, and service-learning projects.   Karen has coordinated Bus. 100, The Business Profession, an introductory course for business majors.   In 2007 she was the recipient of the UI Excellence in Advising Award and in 2009 she was awarded the Outstanding CBE Staff Award.  She enjoys working with students and helping them to achieve their academic career goals.  Some of Karen's favorite things are  traveling, quilting and gardening.

Judi Haskins works in the Academic Advising Center at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana.  She advises students from all majors and curriculums, focusing mostly on those who are undeclared or changing majors.  She also teaches a 3-credit First Year Seminar course at MSU and serves on the campus’ Academic Advising Council.  Originally from Plains, Montana, Judi received a B.S. in Psychology and an M.S. in Counseling and Human Services from the University of Idaho.  A NACADA member since 1998, Judi first worked in advising at North Idaho College in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho.  She has presented at numerous state, regional, and national NACADA conferences, and is credited with starting up Montana’s annual NACADA conferences.  When she’s not exerting her high energy and passion for advising across the state of Montana, she enjoys hiking, camping, and boating with her new husband Ryan.

Jeff Malone is currently the Assistant Head Advisor of the University Exploratory Studies Program, the academic home for exploring/undecided students at Oregon State University.  Prior to Oregon State, Jeff worked in Student Life & Development as well as Student Orientation, Advising, & Registration at California State University Long Beach (CSULB).  He earned an MS in Counseling (Student Development in Higher Education) from CSULB, and a BA in Modern Literary Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz.  Jeff has been a member of NACADA since 2005.  His past involvements with NACADA include multiple conference presentations (at both the regional and national levels), reading conference proposals for the Commission on Undecided/Exploratory Students in advance of the 2007 national conference, and serving as program chair for Regional Conferences (Honolulu, Vancouver, and Seattle).  In his free time, Jeff enjoys playing saxophone, cycling, writing fiction, reading, and enjoying the good life in Corvallis with his wife and two young sons.

Brett McFarlane currently serves as the Director of Undergraduate Programs for the College of Engineering at Oregon State University. Prior to Oregon State, Brett served as the Director of Student Services for the School of Business at Portland State University. He has a MS in Postsecondary Adult Education from Portland State University, and a BA in Accounting from the University of Oregon. Prior to re-joining higher education, Brett (an Oregon CPA) served as the Director of Audit for a publicly traded company in the Portland area. His research interests include student persistence, first-year student development, and assessment. Brett has been elected as the incoming Chair (2008-2010) for Region 8 and is an active member of NACADA's Finance Committee. He enjoys travel, running, and any gathering involving food and friends.

Kimber Shaw is the Director of Advising and Academic Enhancement at Boise State University . She currently oversees advising for exploratory students, programs for students who are at-risk or experiencing academic difficulty and tutorial programming. In addition, she provides leadership in the ongoing development of UNIV101U, First Year Seminar courses, Learning Communities and university-wide advising policy and process. Kimber has been in the academic advising field and a member of NACADA for 19 years. She has presented at regional and Idaho Drive In conferences, as well as chairing the 1998 Regional NACADA in Sun Valley , Idaho and co-chairing the Idaho Drive In Conference in 2004 and the 2007 Regional in Boise , Idaho . Kimber holds a B.B.A. in Human Resource Management from Boise State University and an M. Ed. in Adult Education from the University of Idaho . Her areas of expertise include student development and transition issues, academic and career advising, training and development of peer advisors, and self-management principles and personal assessment.

Kurt Xyst is a lead academic adviser in the office of Undergraduate Advising at the University of Washington and a founding member of UW’s path breaking Individualized Second-year Advising Program (ISAP) and UW Advising Podcast. In 2009 he was the recipient of the first Region 8 Academic Advising Award. Kurt graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of New Mexico with a degree in Philosophy and holds an M.Ed in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington. Currently Kurt is in the middle of a PhD program at UW studying the social and cultural foundations of higher education. His research interests are in the areas of ontological and hermeneutic theories about the undergraduate student experience in the research-intensive university.

Shea Ellingham is the manager of Academic Advising Services at Mount Royal University and has been in this role for almost two years. Before advising at Mount Royal, she served as an Academic Chair in the School of Business at SAIT Polytechnic with responsibility for student advising and orientation for first semester students. Shea has always been actively engaged with student success, engagement and retention, and became a member of NACADA in 2009. Shea was fortunate enough to attend her first Regional and National conferences in 2010. She is chair of the Region 8 Conference in Calgary, Alberta, Canada scheduled for March 10-12, 2011.

Marissa Funaro currently works within Simon Fraser University’s Academic Advising and Student Success unit as the Acting Senior Academic Advisor, with a home position as a Professional Academic Advisor. She has been with Academic Advising and Student Success since 2006, where she began as a peer advisor while working on her BA in English and her Certificate in Liberal Arts. In 2007, while completing her undergraduate degree, she moved into professional advising and became a member of NACADA. Since then, she has attended several Regional conferences and webinars and is currently working on a piece for NACADA’s Academic Advising Today. Her research interests include first year advising, program development and assessment, and international advising. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, photography, and exploring markets and festivals.

Sabreena MacElheron has been a member of NACADA for the last three years and attended the National Conferences. She is currently Vice President of the BC Advising Association (BCADA), providing leadership and learning with Advisors within British Columbia. For the last four years, she’s worked at the College of New Caledonia, in Prince George, BC (Northern BC) as an International Academic Advisor, Homestay Coordinator, and Director of the Student Leadership and Ambassadorship Program. She feels fortunate to have a position where she wakes up excited, passionate, and fortunate to have the opportunity to work and be part of people's dreams and life purpose every day! To her, Advisors are in the 'Dream' Business and it is an honour to have the opportunity to be part of someone's vision, hopes, and aspirations.
Prior to this current position, Sabreena worked for over ten years, at the University of Northern British Columbia, as a Record Coordinator-with student academic records, academic probation and academic misconduct issues including production of the university calendar, also as a Field Practicum Coordinator for the School of Social Work, and as a Development Research Officer in the Office of University Development. She has also worked as a student at the Centre for Educational Technology at Simon Fraser University, and as a student at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.
Prior to my work in education, Sabreena was a Journalist at Hollinger News, where she edited, and produced a weekly paper. She completed a broadcast journalism internship at an ABC television affiliate in the US, and a print internship with MacLean's magazine in Canada. She studied Journalism at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and prior to this, English and Communication Studies at Simon Fraser University. She am considering doing my MA in Advising.
Sabreena was also born and raised in the Yukon Territory in Canada (Kluane National Park).

Ligia Arango was born and raised in Colombia, and received a professional degree from Universidad Javeriana in Bogota. Her love for travelling brought her to the USA several times for short trips. Eventually the trips got longer and she stayed, married, and became a mother and a naturalized citizen. At Stone Child College, a Tribal College, she taught biology and developmental math for 10 years. Since being at Montana State University-Northern, she has served in a variety of positions including being a faculty member, doing grant work and serving as a tutor coordinator. She currently serves as the Advising Center Coordinator. Arango has a soft spot for remedial learners and absolutely enjoys university life.