Leah Wimberly hails from building industry blueblood.
She traces her roots to developer Roy Russell, who built nearly one-third of north Santa Ana before his death in 1965.
The 33-year-old’s parents, Daryl and Laura Wimberly, launched Pacific Wall Systems in 2000 — where she is now is taking on a key role and keeping a watchful eye on the shifting market dynamics amid building supply and tariff issues.
Her dad — great-grandson of Russell — was inspired to open the business after he got passed over for a promised partnership with an Orange County building construction company. He’s always had construction in his blood, thanks to Russell, and went into the field as a day laborer “banging nails” building suburban tract housing. His wife added the financial muscle after a career investing equity and fixed income mutual funds with Los Angeles-based Capital Group Cos.
Wimberly says she’s hopeful the drywall industry will see more deals flow with the 2028 Olympics coming to Los Angeles — especially with restaurant and related venues. She’s seeing an uptick in requests for proposals for drywall jobs in the city.
“In talking with some of my peers, I think there is a consensus that volume might be a little bit down,” says Wimberly, a principal with the Anaheim-based metal framing and drywall subcontractor. “But here in Southern California, everyone’s pretty hopeful that there’s an upturn as we prepare to host the Olympics, and kind of all the infrastructure needed to support that. It’s not just the massive venues where the events will take place, but there’s a lot of other surrounding infrastructure that’s needed, like at hotels, restaurants, and other buildings.”
She began as an estimator and project manager before becoming principal in 2022. In her current role, she oversees estimating, contract negotiations, and project strategy supporting commercial and private clients in healthcare, security, retail, and education sectors. Sticking to government contract and private work has helped Pacific Wall Systems generate smoother sales and avoid the volatility of the housing and commercial real estate office markets.
Also see: These Southern California women, minority business owners are hiring, expanding
Wimberly is now in line to become a board member and see her ownership interest gradually build as her parents step back from the woman-owned business.
“It’s nice to pass something on that we worked hard to build,” said Daryl Wimberly. “It’s harder for women in this industry because of stereotypes and they have to work harder than male counterparts. My daughter opens doors that I can’t because of her gender.”
Wimberly is at ease touring the warehouse behind her company’s headquarters, pointing to different kinds of drywall — like QuietRock used for soundproofing or lead-lined drywall used to absorb X-ray radiation. While her day job includes negotiating contracts with her mostly unionized carpenters, plasterers, finishers and laborers, she also spends a good chunk of her time volunteering at several organizations that help women advance their careers in the construction field.
Non-disclosure agreements keep the privately held Pacific Wall Systems from saying much about their projects. They include studio spaces for podcasters and filmmakers and sensitive compartmented information facilities — commonly called SCIFs — at Edwards Air Force in the Mojave Desert and other military bases.
The company also has performed drywall and steel stud construction at a large California-based hospital chain that generates billions in sales annually.
We asked Wimberly about her role in the industry and the challenges she faces as a woman executive in the trades. Her answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: Tell us when you started with Pacific Wall Systems.
A: I’ve been doing this since I started at the company, when I was at Esperanza High School (in Anaheim), answering phones as an office assistant and filing paperwork. I grew up in Yorba Linda and attended San Diego State University where I studied economics. I joined Pacific Wall Systems after graduation and have been here ever since.
Q: What has it been like as a woman executive in a male-dominated business?
A: For me, personally, I just think there are so many opportunities within the industry that I do not always see myself as being a woman in construction. I like to refer to myself as ‘I work in construction, and I happen to be a female.’ But I think just in the industry itself, there are many different routes that people can take that maybe they don’t know about.
When people think of construction, they just think of people on site, but they don’t think of all the support and office staff that kind of is there to help support those people on site building things. There are project accountants, project managers, estimators, people in sales, and in purchasing. There are so many different routes that people can take.
Q: Why do you want to give back to the industry?
A: I feel like I’ve had so many mentors and amazing people that have either opened a door for me and allowed me to walk through or taught me things, or really fostered my growth within the industry, personally and professionally. And so it’s something that I do not take lightly, and I really would love to be that person for the future of the industry.
I helped launch the Groundbreakers committee of the Western Wall and Ceiling Contractors Association, to engage with the future leaders in the union and wall and ceiling industry. The group offers an opportunity to develop leadership skills, participate in networking events, collaborate with board members, and prepare the next generation to develop their skills. It’s not just for women. This committee is for young leaders.
With the nonprofit Women in Construction Operations in Southern California, I helped launch a branch in Northern California in 2018. We are currently in discussions to form a chapter in the Mid-Atlantic region. WiOPS (with over 1,200 members) was started by a group of women who saw a lack of female role models in senior operation positions within the construction industry.
Q: Are there opportunities as a woman in the construction industry?
A: There are a lot of programs in place that do outreach, whether it’s an organization like WiOPS, or through one of the unions. The carpenters’ union has a program, Career Connections, that provides a pathway for high school students by providing pre-apprenticeship curriculum for high school students. This program provides hands-on skills, introduces students to the carpentry profession, and serves as a pathway into registered carpenter apprenticeship programs.
There are a lot of different initiatives that do a lot of outreach to help introduce the industry to people at a younger age. We need that. There’s always talk about a skilled worker shortage, and yet this industry has so much opportunity for a really meaningful career. There are a lot of effort and talks surrounding that right now.
Q: Is more workforce development needed to train young people to do construction jobs?
A: As people retire, we need to gather some of that knowledge and expertise that they have under their belt and pass that along to future generations.There’s invaluable experience that we don’t want to lose when these people retire.This industry has the door open for whoever wants to come learn and put in the effort.
Q: Are there other mentoring programs that you work with in Orange County?
A: NAWIC Camp — or the National Association of Women in Construction in Orange County — is a week-long program that I’ve volunteered at in the past, specific to Orange County. It’s a camp for high school-aged girls 13-17 that teaches them about different trades.
There’s a lot of people doing a lot of work just to get in front of the younger generation and show them we’re here. They do a good job of exposing these campers to many different opportunities within the industry, not just focusing on one specific thing.
Q: Are building product prices rising because of tariffs?
A: We’re not currently facing any material shortages for our products. It seems like the biggest impact is that our suppliers are going with more domestic material than imported.
I would say drywall has had the typical cost-of-living adjustment increases. Maybe there would be some shortages as they rebuild L.A. in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena following the wildfires in January. There might be a little bit higher material costs or shortages on certain products.
Again, residential builders use different products.They don’t do steel framing like we do. Residential builders typically do wood framing. But there might be a little bit of longer lead times to get material in the future but we’re not seeing it now.
We are kind of far down on the list when it comes to project development. Some of those conversations might be happening right now between developers and owners, and then even between designers, architects, engineers, and even getting some of the general contractors involved.
I wouldn’t say we’re not hearing anything, and people aren’t talking about it, but we haven’t bid on a specific project that needs to be rebuilt, and I think that there’s still cleanup and testing and designing that needs to happen before a project would come to us.
About Pacific Wall Systems
Address: 1201 N. Barsten Way, Anaheim
Founded: 2000
Revenue: $10 million – $13 million (2024)
Mentoring activities: Leah Wimberly is actively involved in the Western Wall and Ceiling Contractors Association executive board of directors — where she became the first woman to hold that role since the Anaheim-based association’s founding in 1901 — and sits on the governing board of the nonprofit Women in Construction Operations in Southern California.
Employees: 65-70 employees
