Women Behind the Magic: Kristina Dewberry!
I was so proud when Kristina Dewberry walked out on stage during Disney Social Media Celebration! A woman leader in a mans industry, Kristina is a ROCK STAR to me, she has set the path for other women to follow in her footsteps.
Kristina spoke about how she found her passion during the construction and building Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is an immersive experience that transports guests to the Outer Rim planet of Batuu. Building Batuu meant doing so from the ground up and was no easy task. But with more than 20 years of onsite construction management experience and an almost ten year Walt Disney Imagineering career, Kristina Dewberry, Construction Manager for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Resort, was a natural fit for the job! DISNEY is thrilled to share her story and role as part of the construction team responsible for bringing the land to life in DISNEY installment of #WomenBehindtheMagic!
Kristina’s journey began in a galaxy not so far away, as she grew up loving all things Star Wars from a young age. As a child, she recalls that girls were told that math and handiwork were for boys, but Kristina didn’t let that stop her when it came to her affinity for the historically male-dominated field of construction. Instead, she drew inspiration from iconic Princess Leia that she shouldn’t let anyone stop her from doing what she loved.
Growing up, Kristina spent a lot of time helping her dad with home projects and even had her own tool belt! In fact, it was an early family construction project of building a shed in their backyard that led her to fall in love with construction.
Now, she spends her days working on various Disney sites and enjoys that her role encourages her to be a problem solver and provides the opportunity to bring people together from different parts of a project, and even around the world. On any given day, Kristina leads tasks that can range from managing safety training protocol to handling construction material deliveries, and even coordinating the site removal of construction debris. But when it comes to what skills she finds helpful, Kristina says that keeping a drive and ambition are necessary to growing her own skill set and helps teams continue to challenge themselves.
“If you hear someone – or yourself – say ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it,’ you should take a step back,” she explains. “You shouldn’t be doing things the exact same way you did a year ago, but be taking in new technology and adding to your skill set.”
Kristina’s favorite piece of wisdom she would impart on anyone who may be considering a career in construction is a motto she keeps on the wall in her own kitchen.
“It’ll cost nothing to dream, and everything not to,” she shares. “If you see anything in the construction field that you find interesting, you owe it to yourself to find out more. Find an ally, someone to help you get started on your search. Construction may not be for you – but it just might be the most rewarding work you’ll ever do.”
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