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Ellen Leyva, who recently
joined our Westlake community, graces the cover of this month’s Westlake
Magazine’s
Celebrating Women Achievers issue, bringing a special charm to our readers.
She has a sparkle in her eye, perhaps
a glint of mischief, a captivating smile and warmth that invites early
risers to tune into the ABC morning news. Ellen
Leyva is clearly more than just another one of television’s talking
heads.
Leyva, a ten year news veteran, is a part of the Emmy award-winning Eyewitness
News This Morning team in Los
Angeles. She is also a wife and full-time mother of two. She grew up in
Tucson, Arizona and graduated from Arizona
State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. With her mother
being Hispanic, Ellen grew up bilingual, and
after graduating from college received a minority internship at CBS in
Phoenix, Arizona.
Leyva says, “Originally I wanted to be an actress but I also wanted
some control over my destiny instead of time. I
thought news reporting would be fun and exciting.” After writing
and working as a reporter in Phoenix, she joined the
CBS team in Sacramento where she began anchoring. One year later she was
offered a job as a field reporter with
KABC in Los Angeles.
Soon after her arrival in LA, she found herself covering the Malibu fires,
the Northridge earthquake and the O.J.
Simpson trial. “I can’t imagine doing the news anywhere else!”
exclaims Leyva of her non-stop, action-packed job in
America’s number two news market. She went on to become the local
affiliates’ health reporter and eventually was
offered the position of morning anchor.
Although Leyva says her unusual hours, which require rising at 2:30 a.m.
every morning, are somewhat challenging,
her greater role as a full time mother and wife is her biggest challenge
and greatest reward. “I have never wanted live-
in help, or anyone else raising my children. For the most part, my work
hours allow me to be home by 8:30 a.m. and
the rest of the day is dedicated to my family.
During the interview, Ellen stated, “My life is really kind of boring.”
After the interview, I realized that her life is anything
but boring. Through her job she has had the opportunity to drive race
cars, fly in F-18 jets and travel around the world.
The story of how she met her husband has all the elements of a romantic
novel. She was a reporter in Phoenix, and
volunteered for the “grueling assignment” (she says tongue in
cheek) of interviewing F-15 fighter pilots returning from
Desert Storm. She met her “top gun” sweetheart, Mark Hair, at
the airport while reporting.
Hair was an F-15 instructor pilot at the time, and swept Ellen off her
feet. The two fell in love and eventually married.
They now have two beautiful daughters, Emma (5) and Audrey (3). Mark is
now a commercial airline pilot, and when
he is not flying, Ellen calls him a “Mr. Mom” dad. “It
works out great for the kids,” says Leyva of their ability to both
be
full-time parents. She adds, “Being around for the kids has always
been an important goal.”
Ellen can’t help but express her excitement about their upcoming
Disney Cruise to the Bahamas with the kids. The
trip is just another one of the many perks of her job. She will be reporting
live from Nassau and the rest is all fun with
the family!
The daughters keep them entertained with their contrasting personalities.
“Emma is just like Mark… and Audrey is
me,” says Ellen. “Emma is bright, analytical and serious and
Audrey is adventurous, extremely curious and a bit
precocious…possibly a blossoming reporter herself.” She and
Mark spend a great deal of time at their daughters’
soccer games and ballet recitals, as well as, taking family ski trips
to Mammoth. Mark and Ellen enjoy traveling and
usually take an annual family trip with the girls and their grandparents
to Hawaii. “The children are extremely close to
their grandparents and that is important to us,” says Ellen.
At the end of our talk, I asked Ellen my favorite question, “After
starting your work day at 2:30 a.m. every morning and
then coming home to be a full time Mom, what special tips have you learned
for maintaining your youthful and re-
freshed look on camera and off?” Ellen replied, “Lots of mid-afternoon
power naps and an 8:00 p.m. bedtime.” She tries
to exercise routinely and eat healthy, although she admits a weakness
for chocolate chip cookies. She also tries to
maintain her quality of life by staying active. Certified in scuba diving,
Ellen enjoys an underwater adventure now and
then, and most importantly, she enjoys her family and job.
So what’s next for Ellen Leyva professionally and personally? “Career
life after mornings is something I look forward to.
Getting up at 2:30 a.m. can get old.” Leyva adds, “Curling up
with a good book, doing yoga, and being a devoted wife
and Mom, suits me fine too.”
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