For as long as San Diego County has been around, there have been passionate and dedicated women working loudly and in the background toward creating a better world for all people. These women are the activists for underrepresented people, they care for the next generation, they've learned from the land and use their skills to advance science. Some have made history and others leave legacies behind that inspire a future generation.
With far too many for one list, this Women's History Month, NBC 7 took a look at just a handful of the hundreds of women -- past, present and future -- who have shaped San Diego's history and deserve to be recognized long after the month ends.
Notable Women in San Diego's Past
1. Jane Dumas: Kumeyaay Elder and Advocate
An elder of the Jamul Band of Kumeyaay Indians, Jane Dumas dedicated her life to preserving the culture and traditions of her native people. Before her death in 2014, Dumas was believed to be one of the last remaining fluent Kumeyaay speakers. Her grandfather was the last chief of the Much of her knowledge of ancient remedies was taught to her by her mother Isabel Thing, who was a respected healer and midwife.
Dumas absorbed all she could from her mother and has passed along native teachings through Kumeyaay ethnobotany and language classes at Cuyamaca College and the Kumeyaay Community College on Sycuan Indian Reservation, according to Kumeyaay historians.
Dumas was inspired to advocate for a Kumeyaay flag during a Cabrillo Reenactment Festival that displayed the flags of the U.S., Spain, Portugal and Mexico. There was no acknowledgment of the Kumeyaay, who lived in the San Diego, Imperial and Baja California region for thousands of years before the first settlers arrived. By 2006, that would change; the annual event now includes a Kumeyaay flag representing all 12 bands.
2. Kate Sessions: 'Mother of Balboa Park'
Kate Sessions' legacy is visible in the form of massive trees and the dozens of plant species found across Balboa Park. The horticulturist rented a nursery for free in the relatively-bare Balboa Park in 1892 under the condition she would plant 100 trees a year for 10 years in the park and raise 300 more to be planted across the city.
Sessions secured plants from across the globe and introduced hundreds of species to San Diego, which have now spread and grown throughout the region. Some of those are believed to be the jacaranda, the poinsettia, orchids, bougainvillea and birds of paradise, according to the San Diego Natural History Museum. Her work made her a central figure in horticultural circles across California and she was ultimately awarded the Frank N. Meyer medal -- becoming the first woman to receive the honor. She also founded the San Diego Floral Association and passed along her love for horticulture to school children, traveling from school to school to teach them how to plant their own gardens.
Sessions died in 1940 and decades later, a bronze statue was erected near Prado and Balboa Drive in honor of the "Mother of Balboa Park."
3. Sally Ride: Shooting for the Stars
One giant leap for womankind. After applying to NASA from a newspaper ad, Sally Ride became part of the space agency's first class of all-women astronauts and, on June 18, 1983, became the first American woman to fly in space. Her trip alongside four men was part of the Space Shuttle Challenger's 1983 mission.
According to the National Women's History Museum, ahead of her trip to space, Ride was asked questions "about how space was going to affect her ability to reproduce, and what kind of makeup she was going to take on the mission" later saying, "'It’s too bad this is such a big deal. It’s too bad our society isn’t further along.'"
After the Challenger Disaster occurred, her future mission was canceled but Ride served on a commission to investigate the cause of the explosion and come up with solutions to prevent future accidents.
Ride was also the first astronaut to be acknowledged as gay, although that wasn't widely known until after her death, journalist Lynn Sherr explains in her post-humous autobiography of Ride's life. After her retirement from NASA, She and her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy moved to San Diego, where Ride taught physics at UC San Diego.
Ride was passionate about inspiring the next generation of women scientists. She wrote several children's books about space and started the Sally Ride Science program to inspire young girls to enter a career in STEAM. The program continues after her death in 2012 as an extension program at UC San Diego.
Inspiring Women from San Diego's Present
4. Alethea Arguilez: Focusing on First 5
“#LittlesAreMyPassion.” It’s how First 5 San Diego Executive Director Alethea Arguilez defines herself on Twitter but one conversation with Arguilez and you’ll feel the passion through the phone.
It’s not just talk. Arguilez has been involved in the development of countless infants and children for nearly three decades. Back then, people called her a babysitter, but she knew her role went much deeper than just watching people’s children – she was there for the critical first years of a child’s development.
“When you learn how important the first 5 years of life are, that time, I feel like we have a duty of care to make sure all children have that opportunity of life. It doesn't matter your social economic opportunity, children know no difference.”
Her first job was with a pilot program at a parent-child center in the underserved Southeast San Diego Community, where she worked to support pregnant women – a new concept at the time that would eventually transition into what is now know as the Early Head Start program.
“A lot of folks entered into the program because people really wanted to know how to support their babies,” Arguilez said. “They wanted to know what they could do at home. There was a seeking out of community, and being able to have others that you could talk to and also to have a support system when things weren’t going well.”
Truthfully, she says, that aspect hasn’t changed much. Families are still seeking support and community. “Foundationally, what’s important to families now is what was important to families then.” And, Arguilez and her dedicated team are ready to offer them safe and affordable resources as they navigate those crucial first years of life.
Next, Arguilez is advocating for families facing one of today's biggest obstacles -- childcare. She’s working with child development advocates to support The Child Care for Every Community Act, a federal bill that would make childcare universal.
Extraordinary Girls to Watch in the Future
5. Melanie Barcenas: Women Soccer's Youngest Star
San Diego native Melanie Barcenas has been making waves since she was a pre-teen. At 9 years old, she was featured on the cover of Time Magazine mid-kick for their deep dive into an exploding youth sports industry that had families dedicating hours of their time and countless resources to support their children’s sports dreams. In the piece, her parents explain how they worked extra hours to pay for travel soccer leagues and spent their weekends at soccer tournaments. “But they’re your kids. You do anything for them,” Magali Sanchez, Barcenas mother, told Time in 2017.
Their dedication paid off because Barcenas, now 15 years old, has made a more literal wave by signing a three-year contract with the San Diego Wave FC to become the youngest player ever with a National Women’s Soccer League contract – something she put into the universe at 2021 launch event for Wave FC. Watch below:
The 5’4’’ forward has trained at the international level for the U.S. Women’s National Team and was recently called up for a match against England where she was the youngest player on the roster. She was also one of the first high school soccer players to sign a name, image and likeness deal with Nike, so you’ll be seeing her around.
6. Emily Tianshi: 'Garage Lab' Scientist
MIT Lincoln Laboratory named a planet after this scientist when she was just 13 years old to honor her work creating a water-harvesting device modeled after the needles of the Torrey Pines trees that surrounded her hometown of San Diego. The needles are uniquely equipped to absorb moisture from San Diego’s marine layer and pass it down to its roots.
“This device, theoretically, can harvest an equal amount of water as a 3-square meter fog net,” Tianshi said. “It potentially could increase the amount of water they collect by almost three times.”
Tianshi is now a Standford sophomore majoring in Data Science and Social Systems with a minor in International Relations. She has expanded her work into water research by founding with her brother, Kyle, the non-profit Clearwater Innovation, which emphasizes problem-solving the world’s largest environmental problems through what she calls “garage-lab research.”
“We believe that innovative technologies are needed to take on the climate crisis, and youth are equipped with the creativity and out-of-the-box ideas to contribute. We want to empower them to step up and try out scientific research, even if it seems like they don’t have the resources or skills,” Tianshi told Medium in May 2022.
Her work was also featured in Hewlett Packard’s YouTube series, Generation Impact. She already has experience working in local government with Mayor Todd Gloria’s office and is a National Security Scholar focusing on women’s rights, according to her Standford bio. Wherever this young woman ends up, she’ll be a name to remember.
7. Christina Rioflorido, Alexa Aquino & Destiney Friday: Menstrual Equity Advocates
After attending a life-changing summer program with Girls Inc., Morse High School seniors Christina Rioflorido, Alexa Tegelan knew they wanted other girls to feel the same sense of community they did. They had the idea to create a club to empower other girls at their school in southeast San Diego but they didn’t know exactly where to start, so they reached out to their resources. Two years later and they’re the co-presidents of the first Girls Inc. club in San Diego County – run with their brand ambassador, 17-year-old Destiney Friday – which is now working on a program to provide quality menstrual products free of cost to their peers. The idea sparked after a discussion about the uncomfortable period products currently being offered in the nurse's office – the only location on campus they could be found free of charge at the time.
“I think just knowing that there's girls who have to just resort to those products because they don't have access to high-quality ones is devastating. And we really wanted to make sure that everyone, regardless of your gender, how you identify, have access to it and you don't feel judged for having it using it,” Tegelan said.
There are five boxes with a wide selection of tampons and pads placed in classrooms of trusted teachers on campus but the goal is to expand offerings. They started the program with $250 and rely on donations through Instagram DMs to keep it going.
All three girls say their hope for the future is that a program like theirs – which aims to support those experiencing period poverty and have the hardest time accessing quality period products – won’t need to exist. But they’ll keep fighting for menstrual equity until that’s reality.
“A personal hope of mine is that menstrual products won't be as hard to obtain for all women and all, you know, and everyone who menstruates,” Friday said. “I feel like tax should be removed from menstrual products and, at best, I feel like they should all be free.”
The girls are in the process of receiving college acceptance letters but see themselves continuing to advocate for women.
“That's something I'm really passionate about and I know throughout my entire lifetime, if I have to, I'll fight for everything,” Friday said.
