“Women of …” Imagineering Celebrates Female Pioneers
Many recognize the names of the legendary Mary Blair and Leota Toombs as well as current trailblazer, Walt Disney Imagineering President Barbara Bouza. Now, Women of Walt Disney Imagineering: 12 Women Reflect on Their Trailblaizing Theme Park Careers takes readers through the pioneering journeys of twelve other leading females retired from Walt Disney Imagineering.
The collection features a dozen incredible stories of perseverance, creativity and teamwork. Among the curated narratives, former Senior Vice President of Creative Administration at Walt Disney Imagineering Maggie Irvine Elliot, former Prinicipal Landscape Architect Becky Bishop and former Principal Show Lighting Designer Pam Rank all share their pioneering stories.
The wit, humor, and detail captured in the stories of these women makes the text. Known worldwide for attention to detail, many of the anecdotes highlight just how laser-focused each of these women were in their roles with Walt Disney Imagineering all the way down to risking their careers over the sub-par quality of fake flowers placed for a photo shoot.
The Tales of Imagineering Trailblazers
The brain-child of former WDI Principal Concept Architect Elisabete (Eli) Minceff Erlandson, creating the collection began as a “personal project in 2014. Like so many things, its creations stalled due to the pandemic. “This idea morphed into a different and larger project when young professional women I had mentored asked me to write about my life in the field of architecture as a woman,” Erlandson says in the text.
Editor Mel Malmberg shares a brief history of Walt Disney Imagineering in the text’s introduction with an inspiring, albeit still challenging, look at the future of women in roles at Walt Disney Imagineering. “There’s been progress, but there is definitely more to achieve,” says Malmberg in the text’s Introduction. “All over the world, people dream of being Imagineers, and the doors have cracked open for everyone.”
View this post on Instagram
Earlier this month, Malmberg celebrated the arrival of copies of the text at home as shared by her partner-in-life, legendary Imagineer Joe Rohde.
“Good Morning, America” meteorologist, accomplished author and Disney fan Ginger Zee provides a powerful foreward to start the must-have anthology. The 231-page text features over 30 glossy pages of photos contributed by the authors as well as one documenting a very special time when they all met together. Now available wherever books are sold, it currently retails for the price of $25.99.
Feature Image Credit: D23