Metro Board Member Jackie Dupont-Walker, Metro CEO Art Leahy, Honoree Leilia Bailey and others of the Metro family gather for the plaque dedication ceremony. Photo: Luis Inzunza/Metro

Metro held a plaque dedication ceremony today at the Arthur Winston Division 5 bus maintenance facility for Leilia Bailey, a trailblazer for women in transportation.

Ms. Bailey started her career at Division 5 as the first female operator post-World War II. She then worked her way to become the first woman in the following positions: Division Dispatcher, Assistant Division Transportation Manager, Division Manager, Transportation Superintendent and later, Director of Transportation. Ms. Bailey’s exemplary efforts were most notable in coordinating the creation and start-up of a rail operating organization that launched the Metro Blue Line in 1990, and organizing L.A. public transportation’s support of the 1984 Summer Olympics.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k3nsO5Jziw]