Mark J. DeSio

Deputy Director
External Affairs

An award-winning journalist, Mark J. DeSio was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in April 2004. As Deputy Director for External Affairs, he directs the California Department of Transportation’s divisions of public affairs and legislative affairs.

DeSio began his professional career as a newspaper reporter in Northern California and was twice named “Newsman of the Year” by the Farm Bureau while writing about agriculture for the Record-Searchlight newspaper in Redding.

He served as an aide to several Northern California legislators before entering State civil service in 1996 as a public information officer for the California Public Employees Retirement System.

In 1999, DeSio started a public relations program for the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District that won state honors for excellence. The next four years, he was Assistant Deputy Secretary for Public Communications at the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.

Prior to joining Caltrans, DeSio was the Chief of Communications at the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.