Heroines, Pioneers & Trailblazers

Guest Speaker Dr. Joycelyn Elders - U.S. Surgeon General 1993-1994 Honorary Gala Co-Chairs Katherine Stuart Faulconer, San Diego AIDS Memorial Committee co-chair, CA Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins and her spouse and community developer, Jennifer LeSar, and City Commissioner Nicole Murray Ramirez Please join us for a gala brunch to celebrate some "ordinary" women (lesbian, trans*, and straight) who stepped up and did extraordinary things in the difficult early days of HIV/AIDS in San Diego and Tijuana. Their stories are some of the most compelling yet under-recognized chapters in our history. In appreciation of all who gave in so many ways, we will honor individuals and one group as our 2016 "Heroines, Pioneers, and Trailblazers." Meet Our Heroines, Pioneers & Trailblazers: Wendy Sue Biegeleisen jumped in to help in so many ways. She was involved in Project Lifeguard, ACTUP, Clean Needle Exchange, the Blood Sisters (see below) and more. Maria Galletta crossed boundaries as well as borders as a co-founder of Christie’s Place. Seeing that there was equal need south of San Diego, she went on to found Casa Nicole in Tijuana. Ruth Henricks knew she could prepare meals and get them to those who couldn’t. Special Delivery was born. Nicolette Ibarra, a Trans woman living in both San Diego and Tijuana, bravely became an AIDS activist on both sides of the border. She took much needed supplies and information to fill-in the gaps in Tijuana and surrounding areas. Susan Jester , seeing that attention and money were needed, realized there was a way to get both. She founded San Diego Walks for Life, which later became AIDS Walk. Laurie Leonard cooked. And cooked. And founded Mama’s Kitchen to provide food and love. Irene Milton and her husband had to face HIV/AIDS in an unexpected way when their daughter was infected. They founded Christie’s Place as a haven for HIV+ women and children. Carole Norman, R.N. president of the Black Nurses Association, simply felt she needed to join in Walk for Life. She organized a People of Color contingency and has been walking and talking and serving in many capacities ever since. Barbara Peabody is an artist and doer. She cared for her son after he was diagnosed with AIDS and wrote about the experience in the disturbing but important book The Screaming Room. She co-founded Mothers of AIDS Patients and created Art for Life, an arts program for people with HIV/AIDS. Miriam Thompson Slater co-founded Mothers of AIDS Patients after she lost her 11-year-old stepdaughter to AIDS in the first pediatric case in San Diego. Barbara Vick saw that her “brothers” needed blood donations but given the AIDS crisis, they were unable to help themselves. Barbara asked a few friends to come to the blood bank with her. Word got out and hundreds showed up; this loosely organized group of women called themselves “The Blood Sisters.”