DPSS News Sept Oct 2020

Lisa Lough spent nearly 30 years traveling to work at the same building on County Circle Drive. From her second-floor office in the Director’s Suite, Lough served as the executive assistant and righthand to six different department heads during that time. Her lifelong career at DPSS —37 years in all—was a journey of steadfast purpose and constant change. Lough’s last day in the office was Sept. 30. Friends, family, colleagues and former colleagues celebrated her retirement in downstairs conference rooms that were decorated as a campsite to reflect Loughs plans to spend more time in the great outdoors. After 37 Years, Lisa Lough Says Good-Bye

With her bright smile and quiet efficiency, colleagues say Lough remained a main go-to person in the department throughout her career who kept her bosses on pace each step of the way. Lough started with the department as a typist in 1983 and became the DPSS executive assistant after only seven years. She was on hand to see the county’s first monochrome dual -floppy disk computers installed. And, she stayed long enough to see shorthand and memos replaced by high-speed internet and Zoom teleconferencing. While change is certain, Lough said “the passion to help others” has never wavered within the DPSS organization and its staff. “I have worked with many hard-working, talented and very smart people who are also humble and personable individuals – all purposing to do the right thing, with our customers first in their minds,” recalled Lough, who called her goodbyes “ bittersweet. “I believe in the important mission of our department and I am grateful that we are available to the most vulnerable people in our communities and those in need,” Lough says. Director Sayori Baldwin, has known Lough for more than three decades. Baldwin called Lough a “pillar, whose commitment and contributions to the DPSS team and customers were too numerous to count. “She will always be part of our organization. We are really going to feel her absence and wish her all the best on her new journey,” Baldwin said. “ Lough says she’s looking forward to retiring with her husband of 36 years, Kevin. The couple have two grown sons, Ryan and Sean in their 20s. Lough said she plans to spend time traveling, crocheting, working with church groups and getting on a regular exercise regimen. “I have been traveling into the same office for nearly 30 years,” Lough said. “I am very much looking forward to making my own schedule and doing other things of interest.”

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RIVERSIDE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES