{"id":36724,"date":"2025-11-04T00:37:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T00:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/36724\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T00:37:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T00:37:10","slug":"san-diego-history-center-launches-hub-for-womens-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/36724\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego History Center launches hub for women’s history"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Panel discussion with civic leaders Toni Atkins and Shirley Weber. (Photo courtesy of The Women\u2019s Museum of California)<\/p>\n

Balboa Park\u2019s San Diego History Center will officially launch its Center for Women\u2019s History<\/a> Thursday, a new hub that will spotlight the often forgotten stories of women who have transformed the region. <\/p>\n

\u201cWomen\u2019s history is incomplete,\u201d San Diego History Center trustee Sandra Maas said. \u201cAt the new Center for Women\u2019s History, we\u2019re filling in the gaps. It\u2019s not about adding a footnote \u2014 it\u2019s about changing the main narrative and making sure every girl who walks into the San Diego History Center can see herself in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maas is a longtime journalist and former president of the Women\u2019s Museum of California<\/a>, who joined the SDHC board after years of collaborating with them. She explained that this merger had been \u201ctalked about for years\u201d and finally materialized because of a shared philosophy: stronger together.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Women\u2019s Museum of California was a smaller entity,\u201d Maas said. \u201cThe History Center has this incredible location in Balboa Park and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2028. Together, we can share the stories of all San Diegans \u2014 with an emphasis now on women\u2019s stories \u2014 in a permanent, dedicated space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gallery at the Center for Women\u2019s History will host several rotating exhibits and collections focusing on the women of San Diego who made significant contributions to the city\u2019s history. Maas explained that the layout and model for the gallery were inspired by the New York Historical Society\u2019s Center for Women\u2019s History<\/a>, which opened in 2016.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>(Photo courtesy of The Women\u2019s Museum of California).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>(Photo courtesy of The Women\u2019s Museum of California).<\/p>\n

In the spring of 2025, the center opened its \u201cWomen in STEM\u201d exhibit, featuring influential figures such as Dr. Charlotte Baker,<\/a> the first female physician, who worked for suffrage, in San Diego, Dr. Erica Ollmann Saphire<\/a>, a virologist instrumental in COVID-19 vaccine research, and astronaut Sally Ride<\/a>, the first American woman in space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re focusing on trailblazers of the past and women who are making history right now,\u201d Maas said. \u201cHistory isn\u2019t just about looking back \u2014 it\u2019s being made in real time by women all over San Diego.\u201d<\/p>\n

The center also has a long-running \u201cWomen in Law & Society<\/a>\u201d exhibit, featuring women such as Melinda Jeffries Lasater, the San Diego County Bar Association\u2019s first female president and first public attorney president, Louise DeCarl Adler, the first female bankruptcy court judge and Patricia D. Benke, the first female Associate Justice of California\u2019s Fourth District Court of Appeals.<\/p>\n

Maas joined the Women\u2019s Museum board in 2020 following her own high-profile gender pay equity lawsuit<\/a> against KUSI-TV. So for her, the work is deeply personal.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that experience, I knew I couldn\u2019t walk away from the fight,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to use my voice and help other women share their stories. We are more powerful when we share our stories, and that\u2019s what this center is all about. It\u2019s a platform for empowerment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Center for Women\u2019s History is committed to showcasing the histories of all women, including women of color, immigrants and LGBTQ+ leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cSan Diego is built from a population of immigrants,\u201d Maas said. \u201cWe ensure our programming is inclusive; you\u2019ll see exhibitions highlighting Filipino, Native American, African American and Latina women, among others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>San Diego History Center building in Balboa Park. (Photo courtesy of The Women\u2019s Museum of California)<\/p>\n

The center doesn\u2019t plan to stop its contributions to the community. It plans to expand its reach through partnerships with schools, libraries, film festivals and organizations such as the Girl Scouts and San Diego International Film Festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll measure our success by how well we connect with the community,\u201d Maas said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about people coming to Balboa Park, it\u2019s about taking these stories out into the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The center\u2019s Nov. 6 event will also serve as a fundraiser for the new gallery. Morse High School alum and two-time Olympic gold medalist Monique Henderson<\/a> will be the keynote speaker.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mission of the Center for Women\u2019s History is to share the successes, achievements and challenges of women who are making an impact and helping to make the world a better place,\u201d Maas said. \u201cTo know the future, we really do have to honor the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information or to RSVP for the launch party, go to: www.sandiegohistorycenter.ticketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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READ NEXT\n\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Panel discussion with civic leaders Toni Atkins and Shirley Weber. (Photo courtesy of The Women\u2019s Museum of California)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[25686,25687,74,76,25688,75,25689,25690],"class_list":["post-36724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-center-for-womens-history","tag-monique-henderson","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-history-center","tag-san-diego-news","tag-sandra-maas","tag-womens-museum-of-california"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}