Sue Collins, president of the Northeast Higher Education District, has announced that Elena Favela, currently serving as a counselor at Anoka Technical College, has accepted the position of interim dean at Rainy River Community College.
According to Collins, “I am so pleased to welcome Elena to the community of International Falls and to Rainy River Community College. Elena’s strong leadership skills and passionate heart will inspire continued growth and advancement at RRCC. Her focus areas will be student success, academic achievement, and educational innovation in all aspects of her new role at RRCC.”
Favela was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and began her college career in Chicago, Ill., where she received a scholarship to play Division 1 Women’s Basketball for the Loyola Ramblers. After a year, she returned home to continue her college-athlete journey at Incarnate Word, where she earned her bachelor of arts degree in psychology and sociology in 2000.
Favela earned her master’s in counseling from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2005. At UTSA, she completed an internship at the Tomás Rivera Center for Student Success where she served as an academic advisor, peer mentor, and instructor to first-year college students admitted to the university on provisional status.
In 2007, she was hired as a counselor in the Women’s Center at San Antonio College, to address the needs of workers displaced by the Levi’s Corporation and Hurricane Katrina. While at San Antonio College, Favela helped coordinate the Young Men’s Young Women’s Empowerment Conference for area high school students. Later, she worked in the Escuelitas Program of the Hispanas Unidas Organization, teaching life, academic, and leadership skills to girls ages 8 to 14. Favela has also coached high school girls’ basketball and track, at Incarnate Word High School.
Favela is currently enrolled as a doctoral candidate in Higher Educational Leadership at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks. According to Favela, “It is an honor to be chosen to serve in the role of interim dean. The more I learn about International Falls, the more I am motivated and inspired to begin this important work. I am eager to meet and work closely with members of the college and the community to increase student access and success at Rainy River.” She will begin her tenure at RRCC Jan. 7.
