Established in 2015

Our Mission

The mission of the Association is to support and provide professional development for academic advisors throughout the state of Oregon, establish a communication network among academic advisors, establish a liaison to and relationships with NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising, and other organizations with similar goals.In addition, the Association supports and promotes the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education’s Core Values of Academic Advising.

Our Leadership Board

Andrea Nelson
President

Andrea is an Experiential Learning Coordinator and Academic Advisor for the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. In her current role, she helps the College grow and track experiential learning opportunities for undergraduates. She also advises students majoring or minoring in the atmospheric (climate), environmental and geography/geospatial sciences as well as geology and oceanography. She has worked higher education for over twenty years, in academic advising for the past ten, with a range of student populations. Reach out to Andrea with any questions you might have about experiential learning, advising in the natural and applied sciences, OAAA or OSU.

Connie Caddis
Vice President

Connie is an Academic Advisor and Assistant International Exchange Coordinator in the College of Business at Oregon State University. Prior to starting at Oregon State in 2013, she worked at Gonzaga University where she developed what has become her advising mantra (thanks to St. Benedict), “listen with the ear of your heart.”  At OSU, she enjoys advising undergraduate business students and co-teaching a pre-departure course for outgoing exchange students. If you have questions about membership or upcoming conferences, feel free to contact Connie.

Michelle Maller
Treasurer

Michelle Maller is an education and internship coordinator in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University. She has been advising for three years and works with students who are in search of internships or jobs. She also serves as a career counselor. Her expertise is in industry liaison work and connecting students to companies that fit their skill sets. She is a good resource if you have questions about career counseling or industry relations.

Niki Weight
Secretary

Niki is the Director of Student Success and Advising at Western Oregon University. Niki has eight years experience working with exploratory students and mentoring/training advisors. Her passion is helping students identify their purpose, values, strengths, and skills and charting a path to achieve success. Similarly, she enjoys developing resources and teaching advisors how to do this as well. Contact Niki if you have questions about the OAAA meetings and organization.

William Butler-Paisley
Community College Liaison

Will is currently the interim advising coordinator at Portland Community College, Sylvania. He has previous advising experience working specifically with first-generation students, business students, and developing/coordinating an academic intervention advising program. Will is the community college liaison and representative on the OAAA leadership team.  

Courtney Campbell
Communications

Courtney works in the University of Portland Shepard Academic Resource Center specializing in First Year Programming. She has worked in academic resource centers for four years overseeing seminar courses and academic coaching programs. Courtney enjoys focusing on first-year student engagement and retention and loves training and developing student leaders. If you have any questions about the website or have ideas on how to improve engagement, reach out to Courtney!

Advising with Purpose

The purpose of the Oregon Academic Advising Association is to support the development and professional growth of academic advisors in higher education in Oregon. OAAA serves a constituency, which includes academic advisors, academic counselors, counselors, faculty members, administrators, and others in academic and student affairs who are concerned with the intellectual, relational, developmental, and vocational needs of students. OAAA is a representative and advocate of academic advisors in universities, colleges, community colleges, technical colleges and schools, both public and private, and is a forum for discussion, debate, and the exchange of ideas. OAAA works to promote the recognition of the profession of academic advising in the state of Oregon.