Professional Experience

Since March of 2006, Michael J. Sylvester has served as an Assistant Director and Chief Information Officer for Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Social Services (DPSS). He presides over the Bureau of Contract and Technical Services, with a workforce of over 400 IT professionals, responsibility for more than 150 IT vendor staff, and oversight over the department’s property management operations. Michael is responsible for the Department’s automation/technology strategy, application development, infrastructure and technical support, and property and strategic space planning.

From February of 2018 to September 2020, Michael assumed responsibilities over the Bureau of Special Operations, consisting of very diverse programs and operations, with a workforce of over 1,900 personnel. He oversaw the administration of the In-Home Supportive Services program, the Toy Loan Program, the Project Management Office, communication and training strategies, volunteer services, fraud prevention and detection efforts, the appeals process, and quality assurance and program integrity efforts.

Michael promotes innovation throughout the Department, while establishing and cultivating key collaborations with other organizations at the Federal, State, and local levels. This is evidenced by his leadership and guidance (in both the technical and business areas) over the successful implementation of a new and innovative Department Web portal in 2020 that has vastly improved the user experience and level of customer engagement through a user-centric, results-oriented and streamlined layout, an easy-to-navigate topology, a mobile device native design and ADA compliant architecture, and an adaptable framework that incorporates user data and advanced analytics to help inform the Department of what changes should be made to the site based upon how the public is the site.

Under his leadership, the Department has achieved numerous awards at the local, State, and national levels for innovation and technology advancement. During his tenure, he has helped transform the Department into a forward-looking, agile, and technologically capable organization.

Education

Michael holds a Master of Business Administration Degree from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from California Lutheran University.

Family

Michael has been married for over 28 years to his beloved wife Diana. They have two wonderful sons, Jacob and Matthew in their 20s. They also have one lab named Ruby Tuesday and two cats named Lilly and Cookie who belong to their kids.

Community

Michael belongs to several organizations in his Woodcrest community of Riverside, including serving as a member of the booster club for the local High School. He participates with his family in many charity fund-raising events, such as Night Nation’s “Stand-Up to Cancer Run,” Riverside’s “Breast Cancer Awareness Walk,” and the March of Dime “March for Babies” event.