Advertisement
Advertisement

Six trailblazing women, one organization inducted into San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame

Inductees sit together during the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame ceremony at the Joan B. Kroc Theatre on Saturday.
Inductees sit together during the San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame at the Joan B. Kroc Theatre on Saturday.
(Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The event, held at the Joan Kroc Theater, honored those who “have made outstanding contributions as professionals and volunteers to improve the quality of life for all peoples.”

Share

For the first time in four years, the San Diego Women’s Hall of Fame held an in-person induction ceremony Saturday, adding six highly accomplished San Diegans and one organization to the growing list of luminaries it began building in 2002.

Hosted by the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls and the Women’s Museum of California, the event, held at the Joan B. Kroc Theatre near San Diego State University, honored those who “have made outstanding contributions as professionals and volunteers to improve the quality of life for all peoples.”

Before Judge Marissa Bejarano began bestowing the formal honors, recently-elected Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, briefly the youngest member of Congress, told the gathered crowd that she often found herself seen for her age and her gender in Washington meetings, pointing to the fact that achievement is not the same as equality.

Advertisement

“As we recognize today’s inductees and all that they’ve accomplished, we should also remember how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go until all women are respected, free, equal and empowered in this country,” Jacobs said.

She referenced the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Roe v. Wade as a key issue facing women nationwide, an issue that was clearly on the hall’s mind with its selection of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest as one of is seven inductees.

Darrah DiGiorgio Johnson, the organization’s president and chief executive, spoke directly to young women in the audience and the larger community, saying that they will “find their voice to make the changes they believe in.”

“For almost 60 years we have led with that belief that all people should be able to make their own decisions about their health, their lives and their future,” she said.

Honorees for 2023, listed in the order they were feted:

Patricia McQuater is the hall of fame’s “Trailblazer” inductee for her work in the community both as corporate counsel for Solar Turbines and her community work, which ranges from being the first Black woman appointed a commissioner of the Port of San Diego to her previous service as chair of the San Diego Convention Center Board. Once recognized as one of San Diego’s top 10 corporate attorneys, she has also been active in nonprofit organizations ranging from San Diego Urban League to Planned Parenthood.

“I know that I need to shift my focus to support and groom those who are in the pipeline rather than necessarily staying on the front line,” McQuater said. “But as long as there’s a seat at the table for me, I will take that seat.”

Amy Forsythe is the hall’s “Historian” inductee in recognition of her career in military journalism, including five combat deployments as a U.S. Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan. She currently serves in the U.S. Navy Reserves as a public affairs officer. Forsythe, who is active in veterans organizations, said Saturday that she took her greatest satisfaction from “sharing the courage it takes to wear a uniform.”

“Keep sharing our stories for the next generation to hear, to understand, to push beyond the boundaries,” she said.

Norma Chávez-Peterson, executive director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, is the hall’s “Activist” inductee. Born in La Piedad, Michoacan, Mexico but growing up in California as part of an undocumented household, Chávez-Peterson began speaking out in the 1990s, organizing protests against Proposition 187, the ballot initiative — ultimately declared unconstitutional — that sought to keep undocumented residents from using a wide range of social, medical and educational services.

The first Mexican-American woman to run a local ACLU affiliate, Chávez-Peterson co-founded the San Diego Rapid Response Network which, working with partners, assists local immigrants dealing with a wide range of issues including deportation, family separation and detention.

She attributed her success to the support of three strong women in her life — her mother, grandmother and sister.

“”They are the ones that taught me that I needed to be resilient, that I needed to do m best not only to survive in this world but to thrive,” she said.

Anthropologist Huma Ahmed-Ghosh is the hall’s “Empowerer” inductee for her work in women’s studies at San Diego State University. The author of two books on gender, globalization and religion, the professor emeritus is president of the board of License to Freedom, a San Diego non-governmental organization, and has founded or helped found numerous organizations including the South Asian Women’s Initiative and Survival English for Newly Arrived Afghans.

Saturday she emphasized the value of solidarity among women.

“Behind every woman is a tribe of other women who has her back,” she said. “We’re a community based on collaboration, sacrifices and hard work.”

Mary Casillas Salas is one of two “Cultural Bridge Builder” inductees for her work leading the county’s second-largest city after her election in 2014, becoming Chula Vista’s and the county’s first Latina mayor. Having returned to school at age 37, Casillas Salas was elected to the California Assembly in 2006 and to the Chula Vista City Council in 2012.

During her tenure at City Hall, Chula Vista was recognized for its urban planning and sustainability efforts. She attributed success to the company a person keeps.

“If you don’t think that you have it in yourself to be great, you do, you absolutely do,” she said. “What you have to do is surround yourself with people that believe in you and that have confidence in you and that are supporting you every step of the way.”

Juana Machado Alipas de Wrightington was also inducted posthumously as a cultural bridge builder. Born at the San Diego Presidio in 1814, according to the San Diego History Center, she was known for her work as a nurse and midwife in and around the city’s origin point now known as Old Town.

Holly Smithson, chief executive officer of Athena, a local organization that helps women in technical fields become leaders, is this year’s “Spirit of the Hall of Fame” inductee. A former presidential appointee of President George W. Bush, Smithson started her career in broadcast journalism while also leading California companies in biotech and other high tech sectors.

The executive and mentor said her spirit is guided by three core principles: “Voice your perspective, as the only way to solve a problem is to give that problem a voice; don’t ever, ever, ever lower your standards, we achieve far more when we expect more; and create the value that reaches as many people as you can reach on this earth.”

Advertisement