Dr. Michael Favor is the Superintendent of Intermediate School District 917. Dr. Favor brings a wealth of experience in educational leadership to ISD 917. Most recently, he served as Assistant Superintendent of Roseville Area Schools. Prior to that, Dr. Favor's district leadership roles include Interim Superintendent of Monticello Public Schools and Executive Director of Robbinsdale Area Schools. Dr. Favor holds a Master of Education degree as well as a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. Most recently, Dr. Favor received his Director of Special Education licensure. Dr. Favor is widely known as a transformational leader in the area of educational equity in the Twin Cities metro area and beyond. A strong advocate for traditionally underserved student groups, Dr. Favor's strategic leadership has been instrumental in improving academic and social and emotional outcomes for students in each of the districts he has served. In addition to a successful career in educational leadership, Dr. Favor experienced great success on the football field at North Dakota State University. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011. Dr. Favor has been with ISD 917 since 2021.
Nicole Flesner is the Director of Human Resources. She is responsible for providing leadership in the development and oversight of the school district's Human Resources department, including labor negotiations, contract interpretation, employee relations, legal matters, etc. Nicole earned her Professional in Human Resources certification in 2008, and she is actively involved with the national Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and local groups, including the Minnesota Association of School Personnel Administrators (MASPA) and Twin Cities Society for Human Resources Management (TCSHRM). Nicole previously worked as the Director of Human Resources for Mahtomedi Public Schools for 19 years. She joined ISD 917 in 2024.
Kate Hulse is the Director of Social/Emotional Learning & Support for Intermediate District 917. Kate is responsible for the oversight of the district's social-emotional frameworks and curriculum, mental health services grants and coordination, crisis prevention, intervention, and postvention, restrictive procedures prevention, oversight, and reporting, McKinney-Vento coordination, districtwide due process, and Core Values Committee leadership. She is also responsible for the supervision of the Setting IV program administrators, School Psychologists, Board Certified Behavior Analysts, School Social Workers, and the Central Intake Coordinator. Before joining ISD 917, Kate held various administrator roles at Intermediate District 287 including Director of Mental Health & Partnerships and Assistant Director of Crisis Prevention & Response, and prior to that she served as a setting IV program lead in the Anoka-Hennepin school district. Kate is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and holds licenses in school psychology, K-12 Principal, and Director of Special Education. She has been with ISD 917 since 2021.
Mark Johns is the Director of Finance for Intermediate School District 917. Mark is responsible for directing, planning and implementing district business and financial operations, overseeing the processing of the District’s payroll, benefits, payables, receivables, budget, financial records, and audited financials. He develops financial analytics for negotiations under the direction of the Superintendent. His work involves setting policies, goals and supervision over business office staff. Prior to joining ISD 917, Mark was a Vice President of Finance at Optum. Mark has been with ISD 917 since 2024.
Cory Langenfeld is the Technology Coordinator. Cory is responsible for providing leadership for the development and implementation of the District’s technology plan, and for maximizing the use of technology at all ISD 917 sites. Implementation includes instructional technology, administrative applications, related staff development, and technical support. Prior to joining ISD 917, Cory worked at Hastings Public School and was responsible for being the Lead PC Technician. Cory has been with ISD 917 since 2004.
Dr. Marci Levy-Maguire is the ISD 917 Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships. She is a licensed principal and superintendent as well as a graduate of Barnard College (B.A., Biology) and Teachers College of Columbia University (M.S., Secondary School Science Education), and University of St. Thomas (Ed.D., Educational Leadership & Learning). Her professional experiences include, among others: K-8 charter school director, founding NYC high school principal, college instructor, district assessment coordinator, high school science teacher, marine biologist, professional developer, and education consultant. Marci has been with ISD 917 since 2021.
Dr. Brooke Peterson is the Director of Teaching and Learning for Intermediate School District 917. Dr. Peterson is responsible for oversight of testing, curriculum, professional development, multi-tiered systems of support, assistive technology, and continuous improvement planning. She is also responsible for the supervision of Reading Specialists, the Instructional Technology Coach, MTSS Lead, Teachers for Multilingual Learners, Occupational Therapists, Speech/Language Pathologists, and Developmental Adapted Physical Education Teachers. Prior to joining ISD 917, Dr. Peterson worked in various roles (Literacy Coordinator, Deaf/Hard of Hearing Program Facilitator, Reading Specialist, and Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing) at Intermediate District 287. She has taught in the Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Program at the University of Minnesota. Prior to that she worked as a Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing at Eden Prairie Schools. Dr. Peterson has been with ISD 917 since 2017.
Dr. Melissa Schaller is the Executive Director of Student Services for Intermediate School District 917. Melissa is responsible for oversight of the district's departments of special education, teaching and learning, and social/emotional learning and support. She supervises the assistant directors/principals and principal for the district. Melissa has experience as a director of special education in a single district in greater Minnesota as well as a special education teacher in metro area school districts. She has her Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development from the University of Minnesota. Melissa has served many state level organizations in the field of education including the Minnesota Administrators for Special Education (MASE) and the Minnesota Council for Exceptional Children (MN CEC). Melissa currently serves as a governor appointee representing directors of special education on the Board of School Administrators (BOSA) as well as the special education component representative for the metro area on the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) board of directors and the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) representative for the MASE board of directors. Melissa has been with ISD 917 since 2008.
Don Budach is an Assistant Director of Special Education/Principal for Intermediate School District 917. Don is responsible for the supervision of the TESA, DASH and PACES programs, as well as the special education programming in DCALS. Don also serves as the District 504 Coordinator, District and Human Rights Officer. Prior to joining ISD 917, Don worked as a Special Education Teacher in Iowa. After moving to Minnesota, Don became a Special Education Teacher at Henry Sibley High School and later the Dean of Students. Don has been with ISD 917 since 1999.
Chris Devine is an Assistant Director/Principal for Intermediate School District 917. Chris is responsible for the supervision of the Dakota County Alternative Learning School (DCALS) and the Career and Technical Education programs (CTE). Chris has held multiple school-based and organizational roles including middle/high school teacher, a Behavior and Intervention Specialist, Digital Technology Coach, AVID District Director and Staff Developer, Assistant Principal, and the Director of Organizational Innovation. His experiences led him to prioritize his focus on helping staff and students reach their potential through building trust and relationships. Chris has been with ISD 917 since 2022.
Jennifer Hetland is an Assistant Director of Special Education/Principal for Intermediate School District 917. Jennifer is responsible for supervising Anthony Louis, Lebanon Education Center, Options, New Chance, Riverside, and Speech. Prior to joining ISD 917, Jennifer worked as a 4th grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School in Hawaii. Jennifer has been with ISD 917 since 1995.
Taylor Lovin is an Assistant Director of Special Education for Intermediate School District 917. Taylor is responsible for the supervision and administration of the Intermediate School District 917 Deaf/Hard of Hearing Resource Programs (preschool, elementary, middle, and high school locations), as well as the following ISD 917 itinerant programs and services available to ISD 917 member districts: Audiology, Blind/Visually Impaired, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Interpreter/Transliterator, Physical and Health Disabilities, and Physical Therapy. Prior to joining the ISD 917 administrative team, Taylor worked in various roles within the district over the last 10 years (Teacher of Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Lead Teacher, and Dean of Special Education). Taylor has been with ISD 917 since 2011.
Jackie Pauley is an Assistant Director of Special Education/Principal at Alliance Education Center (AEC). She is responsible for the supervision of the SUN, IDEA, and CASE programs. Jackie started at ISD 917 in 2012 and taught special education in the SUN and IDEA programs for seven years. She returned to ISD 917 in 2022 as the Assistant Principal/Special Education Coordinator at Alliance Education Center. Jackie has also held positions as Lead Teacher at Simley High School, Special Education Teacher and Administrative Intern in District 196 at Dakota Ridge, center-based teacher at Two Rivers High School, and elementary resource teacher at Dugsi Academy Charter School.
Amy Swaney is an Assistant Director of Special Education/Principal at Concord Education Center (CEC) where she is responsible for the supervision of one of ISD 917's SUN programs. She also coordinates the ISD 917 Member District Collaborative. Amy started at ISD 917 in 2000 and worked for 10 years as a Special Education Teacher in the IDEA program. She then served as a Lead Teacher for 12 years before moving into a Dean role for five years. At the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, Amy was elevated to her current role.