Academic Affairs & Programming
Sara Bembenek-Saborio
International Education Coordinator
Sara Bembenek-Saborio is an International Program Coordinator for Badger Precollege, specifically supporting EducationUSA Academy & Connects and international recruitment. Sara loves engaging with and connecting students from all over the world to share experiences and ideas through dynamic discussion and creative projects. Sara presently resides in Costa Rica and loves exploring this new country on weekends. In her free time, you’ll find her trekking through the outdoors, reading, cooking, dancing, and spending time with family.
Taryn Conaway
Project Program Manager
Taryn Conaway is a Project Manager for the Professional Degrees & Certificates (PDC). The PDC portfolio is comprised of 90+ programs ranging from capstone certificates to doctoral degrees. Taryn serves as the main contact for PDC programs and helps coordinate marketing and recruitment projects to ensure successful recruitment cycles. Taryn leads special projects such as student behavior data projects and program proposals and debriefs. She also produces the PDC Your Future. Your Way. podcast. Taryn is also a member of the Districting & Representation Committee which is charged with placing academic staff in districts based on campus guidelines. Taryn has over 20 years of project management experience and graduated with an MS in Project Management in 2021. Before working at UW-Madison, she served as a Director of Operations for an advertising agency.
Michelle Galarowicz
Certified Professional Coach Program Specialist
Michelle works as the program coordinator for the UW–Madison Certified Professional Coach Program. She became a program coordinator for the Division of Continuing Studies in the summer of 2019. Prior to joining the division, she worked for the Madison Metropolitan School District in both teaching and administrative roles. Professionally she enjoys curriculum development and content management and is committed to advocating for learners and their experience in both traditional classrooms and virtual learning environments. She believes the strength of any educational experience lies in differentiated teaching strategies which meet the needs of diverse learners; and an organized, student-focused system that is inclusive of all students and their unique talents. Michelle resides in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, where outside of work she loves spending time with her husband and children, reading, gardening, horseback riding and swimming. She is happiest when it is hot outside and she can spend hours at a pool or beach in the sun. Additionally, she loves baking and is always up for exploring new recipes that lead to any sort of sweet treat.
Mee Her
Assistant Director International Student Programs
Mee Her works closely with UW faculty interested in bringing groups of visiting international students to campus, admitting and advising incoming international students, and planning group events.
Steve Larsen
Media Specialist
Steve Larsen (BA, Communication Arts, UW-Madison '20) is an Assistant Media Specialist with local photojournalism experience.
Jackie Nevarez
Project Coordinator
Jackie Nevarez is a Project Coordinator for the Professional Degrees & Certificates (PDC). The PDC portfolio comprises 90+ programs ranging from capstone certificates to doctoral degrees. She supports programs by coordinating DCS recruitment and marketing projects, including webinars, video production, and the Your Future. Your Way. podcast. She leads the PDC Community of Practice, manages the GradConnections Bi-Weekly for online students newsletter, and coordinates virtual open house events, among other projects such as student survey management and distribution. Before joining DCS, Jackie held admissions and student services positions at UW–Eau Claire.
Alissa Oleck
Assistant Dean for Professional Degrees & Certificates
Alissa Oleck provides project management and support for academic affairs, specifically with the Professional Degrees & Certificates (PDC) portfolio, which is made up of 75+ flexible and online master's degrees and certificates offered across campus. She also assists with special projects related to the Educational Innovation Initiative and lifelong learning.
Danny Puser
Badger Precollege Project Coordinator
Danny is the Badger Precollege Project Coordinator. They work with the precollege program staff to support efficient summer programming and coordinate program updates and improvements. They also support with seasonal staff hiring processes and commuter program logistics.
William Tishler
Senior Instructional Media Producer
William Tishler is a Media Specialist with over 25 years of experience developing distance education courses that use video as the primary medium for content delivery. He is a UW-Madison alum with a Master's Degree in Liberal Studies from Dartmouth College.
Yu-Li Wang
Project Coordinator
Yu-Li Wang is a Project Coordinator for the Professional Degrees & Certificates (PDC). The PDC portfolio comprises 90+ programs ranging from capstone certificates to doctoral degrees. She supports programs through coordinating DCS marketing and recruitment projects, including webinars, Your Future. Your Way. podcast and video production. Yu-Li leads process improvement projects, manages data tracking and reports, and performs market/competitor analysis research as well as assisting with other special projects such as the student behavior data project. Yu-Li was a VISP student from Taiwan (2014-2015) and received a MA in History from UW–Madison (2019). Prior to joining DCS, she worked as the administrative assistant at the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center where she supported project managers and scientists on National Science Foundation-funded projects.
Jamison Wendlandt
Badger Precollege Program Coordinator
Jamison Wendlandt is a Program Coordinator for Badger Summer Scholars (BSS) and Accelerated Learning Program (ALP). He also works with the College Ready Program that prepares students for college success and conducts outreach to schools across Wisconsin. As a former music educator and reflective practitioner, Jamison's mission is to facilitate student success and inquiry. He is passionate about leadership and fostering environments that allow for continued growth.