Larisa R-McKenna is a Deputy County Counsel IV in the Contracts/Public Works and Financing division of the Office of the County Counsel. Ms. McKenna provides Professional Contract services for the Department of Public Social Services and the Department of Mental Health, both Professional and Public Works Contracting services to the Riverside County Regional Parks and Open-Space District, and Public Works Contracting services to EDA/Facilities Management. Ms. McKenna provides support and guidance at every stage of the public contracting relationship from the initial stages of drafting requests for proposals, throughout the contractual relationship, to a final finished product. As a highlight, Ms. McKenna was involved in spearheading the contracting tools used in bidding the construction of the Highgrove Library.

 

Ms. McKenna also serves as General Counsel for the Registrar of Voters, the Riverside County Regional Parks and Open-Space District, and the Assessment Appeals Board. In her capacity as General Counsel, Ms. McKenna provides advice spanning all aspects of governing a public agency including election law and litigation, Brown Act, CEQA, conflict of interest law, County Service Area law, finance/ rates and charges, special and general taxes, fees and assessments, disclosure of public records, due process and hearing procedure, and Community Service District and Advisory Council law regarding formation and administrative matters.

 

Ms. McKenna received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2005. Honors included a Moot Court Best Brief, Honorable Mention award. She spent her summers interning with the Environmental Protection Agency and with a private, non-profit law firm. Prior to attending law school, Ms. McKenna managed an abused women and children’s shelter as an executive assistant, and worked on local, state, and national Presidential election campaigns as a director at a community organizing local office. Ms. McKenna graduated Magna Cum Laude from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish, Communications and Psychology.

 

Ms. McKenna is a member of the State Bar of California and the Riverside County Bar Association.