Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Las Virgenes Unified School District

Diane Combes was born and raised in Ohio. Her dad worked at TRW and her mom was a high school secretary. She and her 2 sisters attended public schools where Diane was involved in music, theater and intramural sports. After graduation, Diane attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio where she majored in Education. She was a member of the Chi Omega soroity and served as an officer. Diane began her career as the Special Education teacher in The Delaware City School District in Delaware, Ohio. She was head of the department and also took on many extracurricular assignments. While she loved her teaching experience and her students, she was inspired to learn about the business world. Diane had worked throughout high school in the local mall and enjoyed her experience so she began to explore opportunities in retail. She was hired shortly after she began her search by Lazarus, a member of Federated Department Stores. She was promoted to assistant buyer, then buyer in the lingerie department. In 1983, she was hired as the first buyer for Victoria's Secret which was owned by The Limited in Columbus, Ohio. It was at the Limited that Diane learned the business of retail. She was promoted to Divisional Merchandise Manager, then Vice President while taking on more and more responsibility. She traveled all over the world as she and her team searched for fashion trends then produced the products that would be the next best sellers. By 1993, she was managing $450 million dollars in sales, roughly 50% of the company revenue. In 1993, Diane was recruited by The Disney Stores and became the VP/General Merchandise Manager. She and her husband Ron and 2 small children relocated to Bell Canyon, CA where she has lived with her family for 17 years. She enjoyed several years with Disney as did her family! The Disney Stores grew from $300 million in sales and 340 stores to $1.5 billion dollars and 700 stores during Diane's tenure. Diane owned her own business which sold in 2007 and is currently a Business Broker, helping clients sell and buy companies. She is a member of the Calabasas High PFC,serves as VP of Volunteers and is on the Executive Board. She also serves on the Site Council and is Secretary. Her husband Ron, the most fabulous husband of all, is retired. Her daughter, Lauren is now a junior at Indiana University and Garrett is a senior at Calabasas High.