My pioneer is Leota Toombs – an artist and one of the first female Imagineers at the Walt Disney Company. Leota inspires me because she started her career at Disney through the only path available to women at the time, in the ink and paint department where she was responsible for transferring the work of lead animators. Over time, she created a name for herself and was able to contribute her own designs and models to classic Disney attractions that debuted at the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair as well as others that are still running at Disneyland today – most memorably, the Haunted Mansion. 

Not only did Leota pave the way for others by her own example, but she also directly supported them by serving as both a trainer and mentor for future generations of imagineers – including her daughter and granddaughter. To me, Leota is a perfect example of someone who pursued wonder and cultivated joy, values that are at the core of who we are and what we do here at Omlie.