A Point Loma woman whose volunteerism has played prominently in Balboa Park’s success has been named San Diego Woman of the Year by Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins.
Betty Peabody will be honored, along with other nominees from San Diego beach areas, soon in Sacramento.
“We look forward to recognizing extraordinary women from our communities during our annual Woman of the Year ceremony in Sacramento,” said Atkins. “This year’s honoree is Ms. Betty Peabody who, for the last 30 years, has worked toward the success of San Diego’s treasured Balboa Park through her duties as a founding member of the Balboa Park Millennium Society (now Friends of Balboa Park), a member of the board of directors of the San Diego Museum of Man, and as a member of the Central Balboa Park Association.”
Peabody said she’s been honored to serve as park “custodian” as a volunteer, pointing out, “People just assume the city is taking care of the (Balboa) Park, but the resources are slim to none and (city) Park & Rec needs help.
“Who’s taking care of the spaces between the buildings,” asked Peabody, replying, “We felt that was a need, and we’ve tried to support the park.”
Author of “Women Physicians in Early San Diego,” Peabody has traveled extensively with her physician husband, Homer. Their most memorable travel experience was a sabbatical in the Solomon Islands spent doing pulmonary function testing on cannibals.
The couple also chaired the American Medical Tennis National Convention, World Medical Tennis Society Convention and the Magic Lantern Society of U.S. and Canada Convention.
Atkins noted Peabody’s story is “a microcosm for the contributions women make all over California and our great nation. Women bring diverse perspectives to the workplace. They support their families financially and emotionally. They make our communities stronger.”
Peabody was nominated for the Speaker’s Women of the Year project for Women’s History Month in March.
Fellow San Diego nominees included: Laura Mustari of Pacific Beach, CEO of Home Start, a 35-year-old organization dedicated to ensuring the wellbeing of children while focusing on child-abuse treatment in San Diego County; and Dr. Rommie Amaro of La Jolla, who’s received the nation’s highest honor for young scientists and engineers when, in 2011, she was selected by President Obama for the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists & Engineers.
Every year, one woman from each assembly district in Sacramento is honored for her achievements.
This year, outstanding women in 10 different communities around San Diego were nominated to be honored along with Peabody at a private luncheon in mid-March. The nomination process was carried out by Assembly field representatives. Once a final list of nominees was compiled, Atkins reviewed the biographies for all of the nominees, and chose the final winners. Nominees and winners were chosen and evaluated based on their history of community engagement, and by considering whether their work has made a positive impact on San Diego. Balboa Park was characterized by Peabody as an “icon that’s never reached its full potential.”
She noted it’s she and other volunteer’s job to work to ensure Balboa Park realizes its full potential.
“There is more that needs to be done,” Peabody said, “solving problems with parking, access, water availability and landscaping.”
The two other San Diego nominees were thankful for having been nominated for Woman of the Year. They’re also proud of the achievements for which they’re being recognized.
“I am very honored to be among those nominated for the woman of the year award,” said UC San Diego scientist Amaro, whose work involves computational modeling and simulation of biological systems. “We have been particularly interested in using computational simulations in researching experimental methods for targets in cancer, influenza and neglected tropical diseases. We are also developing new multi-scale simulation approaches so that our simulations are more biologically accurate that ever before.”
Mustari, of Pacific Beach, said, “Our mission is focused on preventing child abuse and neglect and strengthening at-risk families. We have a vision that every single child in San Diego lives in a safe and nurturing home supported by a healthy family and community.”
Peabody is the recipient of numerous awards including: Woman of Distinction; The San Diego Crime Commission “Blue Knight award”; San Diego Crime Stoppers “Lifetime Achievement Award”; the City of San Diego District 3 “Community Spirit” award; the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce Recognition award; and the Hanalei Bay Resort Homeowners Association Resolution of Appreciation.