Leyla Riley, MPA

Leyla De Silva Riley is executive director of the OC STEM initiative which is housed in the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. In this role she works to foster Orange County’s economic competitiveness and sustainability by promoting STEM competencies across the educational continuum through the creation of public-private partnerships between community stakeholders, including but not limited to K12 schools, higher education, industry, government and philanthropic foundations. Leyla has developed multiple programs focused on expanding project based and experiential learning opportunities for K12 and community college students with a specific emphasis on increasing access for underrepresented student populations. These programs center on the growing maker movement and emerging technologies in the areas of fabrication and digital making. Leyla has a bachelor of science degree in Microbiology and a Masters of Public Administration both from Arizona State University. [one_half] [/one_half][one_half_last] [/one_half_last]