Mrs. Downing began her teaching career at Creston High School in 1996. She enjoyed teaching History and Character/ Careers classes at both the middle and high school. Most recently, Mrs. Downing was the 9-12 Instructional Coach. Throughout her career at Creston Community School District, she has served in the following roles: MS Student Council advisor, Big Sister/Little Sister sponsor, Y-Teen sponsor, Fellowship of Christian Athlete Huddle leader, middle school volleyball, basketball, and track coach and Cross Country at Creston High School.

Mrs. Downing attended Mt. Ayr High School until her sophomore year and then graduated from Lamoni High School in 1989. After graduation, she obtained her Associate of Arts degree from Southwestern Community College. She continued her educational pursuits at Southern Illinois University where she graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in 6-12 Social Studies. She then went on to complete her Master’s of Educational Leadership from Iowa State University in 2012. Lesa and her husband Todd (CCHS ‘85) have two children Chelcee (‘14) and Trevor (‘18).