Lea Deesing

Assistant City Manager, former CIO City of Riverside

  • Riverside CA

Motivate staff and spark innovation. Encourage kids to pursue STEM fields. Increase government transparency and improve cyber security.

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Biography

Lea Deesing was the first in her family to go to college, became a self-made tech geek, and has risen to the top ranks of municipal government. For the past five years, Lea served as the Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Riverside leading a national-award-winning department and publishing various technical articles on topics ranging from social media use in government to cybersecurity. She has spoken both internationally and nationally about technology and leadership topics including smart city technologies, social media, project management, technology policies, cyber security, leadership, and “sparking” innovative thinking.

In Lea’s breakthrough inspirational speech, “Finding Light at the End of a Math Formula: A Tech Geek’s Guide to Career Success”, she will describe her formula for success and share with you in a very real and honest presentation her professional trials and tribulations, including several failures she experienced along the way and how she overcame them. She will delve into several of her key fork-in-the-road decisions, which made a life-changing difference her career and she will discuss the professional and personal traits needed to set oneself apart from others.

In her heartfelt speech, Lea will entice you to ponder how innovative thinking can change your trajectory, she will describe how one key ingredient in life will help you realize the authentic version of yourself you are destined to become, and she will present to you a working copy of an actual formula you can take away and apply to your own life to foster years of career success in your own life.

Biography:
Lea’s experience includes 31 years in the IT field with 20 years specific to local government. She holds a Master of Public Administration degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems degree from the University of Redlands. Lea also holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

Prior to moving into her executive leadership role as Assistant City Manager, Lea’s background was in computer programming. Her love for programming originated from her fascination with codes and ciphers, known as cryptology. She cracked the Tiger Beat Magazine’s fan club secret code when she was just nine years old. When she was sixteen, Lea started programming computers. Lea regularly speaks to young students, hoping her story will inspire them to become interested in the computer science field.

Industry Expertise

Information Technology and Services
Computer/Network Security
Government Administration

Areas of Expertise

Cybersecurity
Information Technology
Innovation
Leadership
STEM Education
Government
Open Government

Accomplishments

Published

2013-11-26

See my Linkedin Account for a list of articles I have either written or contributed to.

www.linkedin.com/in/leadeesing/

Education

California State University-Dominguez Hills

MPA

Public Administration

2010

3.96 GPA

University of Redlands

BSIS

Information Systems

2003

Activities and Societies: Member of Whitehead Leadership Society. Graduated with a 4.0 GPA, Summa Cum Laude.

PMI

PMP Certificate

Project Management

2013

Affiliations

  • MISAC
  • Whitehead Leadership Society

Languages

  • English

Event Appearances

Applying Innovation To Do More With Less - Panel

2019 League of CA Cities Mayors & Council Members Executive Forum  Newport Beach

2019-06-19

Finding Light at the End of a Math Formula (30 Minute Motivational Keynote)

Annual Riverside County Women's Leadership Conference  Riverside, CA

2018-09-13

Cybersecurity Panelist on Plenary Stage

Midmarket CIO Forum  Savannah, GA

2018-04-10

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Style

Availability

  • Keynote
  • Moderator
  • Panelist
  • Workshop Leader
  • Corporate Training

Fees

$0 to $3500*Will consider certain engagements for no fee
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