Q&A with Lisa Marie Harris.

• Author: Martin, Timothy
• Position: IN PRACTICE: INTERVIEW

GFOA's Timothy Martin had a conversation with Lisa Marie Harris, director of finance for San Diego Water Authority, as part of GFOA's new series, FINE(ance) Fridays. This article was adapted from the January 7, 2022, episode, "I Was the Only Fallback." To listen to the full FINE(ance) Fridays conversation, go to gfoa.org/fineance-fridays or search for GFOA on your favorite podcast platform. Episodes 1-7 are also available for download or streaming. The second season of FINE(ance) Fridays is expected to be released in late summer 2022.

Lisa Marie Harris, who grew up as the eldest of seven kids in a family of limited means, speaks candidly about making her own opportunities, being a woman in the workplace, and proving oneself. Lisa Marie is director of finance and treasurer for the San Diego County Water Authority, where she oversees the agency's $2.3 billion debt portfolio and $385 million investment portfolio. She is also responsible for the development of the biannual $1.5 billion operating budget and the setting of annual rates and charges. Before that, Harris was chief deputy treasurer for the County of San Diego Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office; executive director of the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC); assistant deputy airport director for the City and County of San Francisco--San Francisco International Airport; and senior vice president for Siebert Brandford Shank LLC. She is a past executive board member and has served on GFOA's Debt and Nominations committees, as well as being a past executive board member for Women in Public Finance (WPF) and a founding member and vice president for WPF's San Diego chapter.

You grew up in a big family in San Francisco.

I was the oldest of seven kids, and being the oldest, you grow up having more responsibilities, which shaped who I am today. Taking leadership roles was a natural transition for me, with the skills I learned from being the oldest child--I had to be accountable, I had to be responsible, I had to help take care of my siblings. And I have no regrets about that because it shaped who lam today, and I'm grateful for that. I didn't get to participate in extracurricular high school functions like volleyball--I really wanted to play volleyball!--but when I wrote that into my narrative when going to college, both the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan were excited about that part of my story. They saw significant value in it.

How did you balance your high school education and moving toward college with your responsibilities at home?

At that point I was used to juggling the responsibilities, and my siblings were older then, too, which helped. I was also working a few days a week to make some pocket money, and I really enjoyed working. It got me outside the house. My grandmother owned a convalescent home, so I was a nurse's aide for one or two summers. One of the main things I learned there was that I didn't want to wear white, and I didn't want to work in a hospital. By the third summer, I got to work at Baskin-Robbins, and I was so happy because all I had to do was scoop ice cream. Working in a convalescent home is hard, and I respect everyone who works in the medical profession, but it wasn't for me.

These jobs allowed me to explore the world outside my house, and they allowed me to explore what I did and didn't want to do. That's half the battle.

I assume that you had to learn financial management early on. Did that help shape the rest of your life?

It was two things. The experience in the convalescent hospital, and I remember my dad taking me with him when he went to pay the insurance. In those days, you had to pay everything in person or put it in the mail. And I remember seeing this beautiful black woman, and her hair and makeup were perfect. I thought, I don't know what she does, but that's how I want to look.

And when I got my first job, my father helped me open a savings account and taught me about saving any money I didn't spend. I would go make my deposit every week, and that instilled discipline.

You've mentioned that money was tight in your family, and Berkeley is not an inexpensive school. How did you make that happen?

Berkeley is one of the top schools in the country, and it just happened to be the one that I could get to from where I lived. But there was no way my father was going to be able to contribute. He wanted to, but it just wasn't possible. I just started working part-time, and what's amazing is that at that time, a semester there was $400. So, if I had...