Lea Deesing is the Information Systems Division Manager for the City of Fontana. Equally passionate about information technology and government, Lea works hard every day to help ensure the smooth operation of the City’s internal information technology department.

Three years in February.

Prior to Fontana, I worked for the City of Moreno Valley for nearly a decade, and before that, I worked for a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software mapping company, Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), in Redlands for eight years. Both positions were at a supervisory level in the information technology field. I worked in various finance-related positions prior to my 20+ years in I.T.

The Information Systems Division is a team supporting enterprise software systems, databases, GIS, Web, and application development. Specifically, I manage people, projects, and vendors, along with all of the paperwork associated with each. Occasionally, I get involved at a more technical level, such as programming, but this is more of the exception than the rule.

I enjoy attempting to keep my highly-intelligent staff challenged and motivated to get their projects completed. Managing smart people is sometimes difficult but even more so, rewarding. I also enjoy the strategic aspects of my job, which usually involves giving my manager my honest opinion about something.

In a nutshell, my job is to help my team succeed. My philosophy on leading a team is to put its members in charge of a project or task, empowering them to take ownership, even if that means they may make mistakes. My view is that I’m here as sounding board if and when they need it. They always exceed my expectations under this approach. I also encourage them to challenge me on a regular basis, and they definitely do not hesitate doing so.

Specifically, I spend a lot of time dealing with issues that arise, discussing project progress with staff, removing obstacles presented to staff, getting staff the resources they need to do their jobs, helping staff prioritize their work, and most importantly, keeping my Division focused on the projects that support the work plan, which, in turn, supports the City’s overall mission and Council goals.

I also have my own projects to manage. Of course, the less-than-glamorous aspects of my job entails sending and responding to email, managing my Division’s budget, processing vendor payments, tracking project budgets, and pushing a lot of paperwork.

After getting your college degree, pick a few technologies and learn them well. If you find you can’t get hired because you don’t have enough experience, set up a lab at home to practice these technologies, then put your experience and home lab accomplishments/inventions on your resume. After developing your technical skills, apply for part-time work or volunteer for an organization with the goal of getting hired as a full-timer. There are a lot of really cool emerging technologies and fewer people entering into the I.T. field, so the timing couldn’t be better.

Being platform agnostic, I would suggest to first establish the primary purpose of your purchase and be open to purchasing a PC or Mac. Your decision should be governed by your overarching purpose, feature requirements, and budget. Narrow your search down to a few models, then read user reviews of these various models and features. When all else fails, talk to teenagers—they know what’s hot when it comes to technology.

I enjoy leading complex projects involving a lot of people. For example, some of my projects entailed implementing enterprise-wide software systems for both the City of Moreno Valley and the City of Fontana. My software implementation philosophy is to encourage end-users to take ownership of their new system throughout the implementation process. This generally results in a more functional system, a better system-user experience, and more knowledgeable employees.

I live full time in the mile-high community of Idyllwild, where I am heavily involved in the life of my daughter who attends the Idyllwild Arts Academy as a “Moving Pictures” major. She has won national awards in both music composition and film. The school she attends is a small arts-based high school, comprised mostly of boarding students. My daughter’s best friend is a highly-talented concert pianist; he practices every night at our home, which I enjoy after work.

I also take pleasure in hanging out with my husband on the weekends. He is a high school art teacher, artist, and actor. He is the doppelgänger of Jack Nicholson, so we are in Hollywood quite often, whether hired to be on set for feature films, attending film premieres and festivals, appearing in music videos or getting mobbed by fans and paparazzi (including TMZ) who all want to believe he is “Jack”.

My hobbies include serving as my husband’s publicist, attempting to play the piano, and inventing and/or installing geeky home-automation systems. Hence, my husband frequently finds me lurking in the attic, with tools and wire in hand.

I am virtually one class away from receiving my Masters in Public Administration. I enjoy working in government with all of its unique challenges. My long-term career plan is to land a Director of Information Technology position, then possibly a City Administration position, perhaps as an Assistant City Manager.