"Unlocking the Inner Child"

Imagine this: Being recruited by an international fortune 500 company whose “singular brand mission is to make the world a happier place.” That’s Laura Sanden Cabo’s story about how she came to be a portfolio creative executive for Walt Disney Imagineering (the creative arm of the Walt Disney Company), entrusted with the design of Disney theme parks and resorts around the world. Without a doubt, Laura is fully committed to ensuring that mission is accomplished.

She joined the iconic think tank, formerly known as WED Enterprises and founded by Walt Disney himself, five years ago and led the architecture studio in support of Disney’s global resorts in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, Orlando, Anaheim, and Hawaii. Recently, Laura was tapped to lead creative development of the Disney Cruise Line. With three new ships planned for ’21,’22, and ’23, Laura is focused on “learning everything about this incredible industry,” she says. “It’s a huge responsibility. A cruise ship is a marvel of engineering and essentially a self-contained floating city that sustains both its guests and crew.” Laura spends most of her time leading team members out of the Florida or Glendale, California headquarters and working with Disney’s team of global consultants in ports around the world. She notes: “I feel like this current assignment embodies all I have learned my entire career: how to lead, how to inspire, how to keep learning, and how, specifically, to take a brand and translate it into a life-changing experience that, in this case, only Disney can deliver on the seas.”

Collaborating with “amazingly talented designers” in brainstorm-type meetings, Laura operates across time zones so the work never stops as they strive to deliver outstanding experiences to Disney’s guests. “I love that we all feel connected by our passion for the brand,” she says, “and I like to think that Disney, at the minimum, can deliver a great day to our guests, but on a larger scale that our experiences can unlock the inner child, creativity, and an optimistic hope for the future in everyone.” By way of example, she points out Disney princesses such as Moana who are evolving to be “heroines who stand straighter and stronger.” Thanks to their influence, “every little girl on the planet knows she has the power to change the world.”

Prior to joining Disney Imagineering, Laura was a principal with GUND Partnerships, a prestigious, Boston-based architectural firm. She lauds Graham Gund as “the single most important design force in my professional life. He allowed me so many opportunities to lead, design, and flourish.” Indeed, her first project, a single-family home in Missouri, was featured in Architectural Digest. “Every project seemed a first-off, from museums to theatres to institutional headquarters. They were always a huge challenge for me,” she says, and she often wondered, “How can I do something I have no direct experience in?”

Experienced or not, Laura went on to design such high-profile projects as the Cleveland Botanical Gardens and Glasshouse in Ohio, and many performing and visual arts projects at which she became an expert. One of her major clients was the Walt Disney Company, where she led the design of millions of square feet of retail, hotel, and housing projects around the world. “I learned that it’s not what you know but how you approach your work; the creative process can solve anything,” she explains.

Laura’s creativity was also nurtured and encouraged at Trinity and its campus. A self-proclaimed “Navy brat” who lived in more than 18 cities, Laura finished high school in Virginia Beach and came to Trinity looking for “something exotic.” “Arriving in San Antonio was like arriving on another planet—ranches, Spanish influence, huge distances.” She wanted to be an artist but, fearing starvation, she started in pre-law. She joined the SPURS sorority and was extremely involved with the intramural program led by Coach Jim Potter, whom she calls an “optimistic influence.” By junior year she realized she needed a “more hands-on creative endeavor.” Inspired by O’Neil Ford’s Trinity campus—a modern interpretation of an Italian hilltop village—she decided to become an architect. “The closest major was homebuilding, which I jammed into my last year and half with a plan to then get a Master of Architecture.” She remembers art professors Bill Bristow, Bob Tieman, and Elizabeth Ridenhower as inspiring her to paint, take risks, and ultimately change her trajectory from law to architecture. “They might not remember me,” she says, “but I certainly am touched by their creative influence.”

After 25 years in Boston, the family (an architect husband and two sons) moved to California, a journey Laura calls “a challenge” but mitigated by California’s “drop dead gorgeous” natural environment. Because her work is so consuming, Laura loves spending free time hanging out at home, which features 96 steps from the street to her hilltop terrace at the top of her backyard. “We get our steps in,” she laughs.

A firm believer in making lemonade out of lemons, Laura insists, “Creative problem solving is the key to every single day.” Mistakes, she affirms, are also part of the process of making things better. For example, she points to the popular lubricant spray WD40, which was so named because it was the inventor’s 40th attempt.

Naturally optimistic and collaborative, Laura’s exuberant creative influence is visible and enjoyed around the world. Yet she says her proudest accomplishment is “having someone who worked with me tell me that I inspired them to do better.”