Office of Enrollment & Student Success

Dr. John Achter joined the Office of Enrollment & Student Success in August 2020 as the UW System's first Student Behavioral Health Coordinator. From Sept. 17, 2021, to June 14, 2023, he served in a dual role as Interim Associate Vice President for Enrollment & Student Success and Director of Student Behavioral Health.

In his ongoing role as Senior Director of Student Success and Wellbeing, he supports student behavioral health initiatives and accessibility services, working with counseling, health, and disability services professionals at all of the UW System's campuses. He is a licensed psychologist with over 20 years of experience in higher education as a behavioral health practitioner, counseling center director, and student affairs administrator. He was a staff psychologist for 5 years in the Counseling Center at Concordia College-Moorhead before serving for 13 years as Counseling Center director at UW-Stout. Just prior to joining UW System, he served for 5 years as Associate Dean of Students at UW-Stout, where he chaired the behavior intervention team, was a Title IX investigator, and had supervisory oversight of counseling, health, and TRIO programs. John is passionate about serving students from all backgrounds and draws on positive psychology and trauma-informed approaches in his work.

John earned both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Counseling Psychology from Iowa State University, and a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from Concordia College-Moorhead in Minnesota. His leisure interests include spending time with family, traveling, and many forms of exercise, especially outdoors.

Dr. Barbara Bales serves as the Director of PK-20 Strategic Initiatives and Educational Programs in the UW System Administration Office of Enrollment & Student Success. She brings stakeholder partners together to recommend, plan, and develop strategic policies and programs to build an equitable and seamless sequence of PK-20 educational opportunities for Wisconsin students. She conducts research that examines relationships among teacher education policies, preparation programs, teacher professional development, and students' opportunities to learn, particularly among those historically underserved. The findings offer a research base from which to recommend and execute strategic initiatives and innovations to address the state’s PK-20 equity gaps in educational opportunity and achievement. She also supports the development and implementation of academic programs across their lifespan on select campuses.

She also holds an Associate Professor position at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, where she served as Department Chair, Director of Graduate Programs, and Director of the Center for New and Professional Educators. She is active in the World Educational Research Association, American Educational Research Association, and American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. She also served on the Editorial Boards of Urban Education and The Journal of Urban Teaching, Learning, and Research.

She earned a Ph.D. and M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction at UW-Madison, each with a minor in Educational Policy. She received a B.S. in Education from the State University of New York College at Cortland. Other experiences include 18 years in higher education; 17 years as a middle school health and science teacher in Syracuse, New York, and Bettendorf, Iowa; multiple summers with Upward Bound and the UW-Madison P.E.O.P.L.E. programs; as well as many innovative professional development and licensing programs for teachers and school administrators.

Kristen Jasperson joined the Office of Enrollment & Student Success in August 2023 as the Advisor for Student Success Initiatives. Previously, she worked at UW-Superior as both an academic advisor and the assistant director of Academic Advising. Prior to her role in academic advising, Kristen held positions at UW-Superior with the Admissions Office as the events planner and with the First Year Experience Office as the transfer welcome coordinator. Kristen received her M.S.Ed in Student Affairs Administration from UW-La Crosse and her B.A in English from UW-Superior.

Angie Kellogg joined the University of Wisconsin System as a Senior Academic Planner in January 2018. In her position, she helps lead the development and execution of UW System advising and student success strategies, and she provides leadership for the 360 Advising initiative. In addition, she serves as a liaison to various UW System student success stakeholder groups. Angie has 25 years of experience working at UW System institutions. She previously worked at UW-Stevens Point, serving first as an academic advisor and then as the director of Academic and Career Advising. She also later helped launch a mentoring program for first-year students at UW-Stevens Point. Prior to that, she worked at UW-La Crosse as coordinator and assistant director in Student Activities and Centers, and as a coordinator in the Office of Multicultural Student Services. Angie also has worked at UW-Madison, where she provided career advising and programming for students and alumni in the College of Engineering. In all her roles, she strives to promote diversity and equity and to support efforts to enhance student retention, completion, and success. Angie received her Ph.D. in Student Affairs Administration and Research from the University of Iowa; her M.S.E. in College Student Personnel from UW-La Crosse; and her B.A. in Communication-Media from Truman State University. She also received a certificate from the Management Development Program at Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Annie LaValley joined the Office of Enrollment & Student Success in August 2023 as the Advisor for Strategic Enrollment Initiatives. She has over 10 years of experience within the UW System serving first as an academic advisor at UW-Whitewater then as a student services coordinator and certifying official for UW Colleges Online. Annie returned to UW-Whitewater in 2016 and was most recently the Director of Academic Services in the College of Letters and Sciences with a portfolio that included academic advising, articulation agreements, and general education transfer review. In all her roles, she strives to improve the student experience and academic persistence through policy revision, process improvement, and collaboration and specializes in all things transfer. Annie earned a graduate certificate in Data Analytics, M.S. in Counseling, and B.A. in Psychology all from UW-Whitewater following 6 years of service in the United States Army and Wisconsin Army National Guard as an intelligence analyst. Prior to joining the military, Annie earned a B.S. in Political Science from UW-Whitewater after transferring twice.