Leith Oatman has been the principal of Interior Design Services at Gresham Smith and Partners, an architecture, engineering and interior design firm located in Southpoint, for seven years.
WHAT ARE YOUR SPECIALTIES?
Corporate, healthcare and clubhouses, primarily for golf courses.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“About 60 percent of my time is spent on business development of the interior design department within this particular office. I have a staff that reports to me. I bring the projects in and they produce them.”
HOW DID YOU GET INTO INTERIOR DESIGNING?
“I went to college and started out in the architectural program. As that progressed, I realized that interior design was more one-on-one with people, so it satiated two basic interests that I have. One is the creative side and the other is working with people.”
COLLEGE
She has a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the University of Florida.
AFTER COLLEGE
She and her husband moved to Portland, Maine, where she landed a job with Portland Design Team, an architectural firm that specialized in interior design. They stayed in Maine for 10 years, returning to Jacksonville in 1991.
BEFORE GRESHAM SMITH AND PARTNERS?
She worked for a small company, People Space, that focused on interior design. Gresham Smith and Partners was looking to expand its interior design practice into the commercial market so it merged with People Space.
MOST RECENT CLIENTS?
The PGA Tour, CSX Transportation, Craig/is Ltd., Deustche Bank Alex Brown, Advantis and Trammell Crow.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT DESIGNING FOR COMMERCIAL SPACES?
“I think that the part of the industry that I enjoy the most is being presented with problems and helping the client come up with solutions. Also, being challenged with parts of their existing office space that is not functioning well for them and helping them create solutions that will help their company be more successful or productive. You are exposed to, and learn about, a lot of different types of industries and people.”
HOW ABOUT INTERIOR DESIGN ITSELF?
“The challenge of coming up with creative solutions and that no two projects are the same.”
DOWNTOWN INVOLVEMENT
Currently, they are working on a project with the Internal Revenue Service, which is moving into the 550 Water Street building. “We’ve done a lot of work for First Union [Wachovia]. They are a huge client of ours. We’ve done a great deal of work for them in the Ed Ball Building, which they own. The entire building will have to be renovated eventually.”
DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT?
“I was born in Jacksonville, so I have an attachment to watching the city grow in a positive way. I’ve seen a lot of buildings that I have grew up around coming down and new buildings going up. I think the evolution that is going on downtown is a healthy and positive statement about what is happening with the city of Jacksonville.”
BIRTHPLACE
Jacksonville.
RESIDES
Grenada, which is just south of San Marco.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS?
She is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and has attended the Commercial Real Estate Women of Jacksonville meetings.
PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS
She is a member of the International Interior Design Association.
FAMILY
She is married to Michael Wood, a property manager with Gateway. They have two children, Morgan, 13, and Forrest, 11.
HOBBIES
She stays busy shuffling her children to various social events. When she has free time, she enjoys playing golf with her husband and gardening.
FAVORITES
Her favorite movie is “On Golden Pond” and her favorite author is Barbara Kingsolver. When relaxing at home, she enjoys “The West Wing.” A place she is interested in visiting is Italy. She enjoys Pom’s Thai Bistro in San Marco when dining out.
CHURCH
Southside Methodist.
NEAT NAME?
She was named after a family friend. Leith is Danish, and yes, she has to spell it for people all the time.
—by Michele Newbern Gillis