February 8, 2005

Maria Plasencia

A longtime NOW activist and member of the planning committee for the 2005 Women of Color & Allies Summit, Maria Plasencia died in her Encinitas, Calif. home Feb. 1 after suffering insulin shock that led to a diabetic coma. She was 46.

As a NOW activist and as an official in the San Diego Democratic Club, an advocacy organization for LGBT equality, she organized a 500-member San Diego delegation for last April's March for Women's Lives in Washington, D.C. To those who knew her, it exemplified her uncompromising beliefs and her ability to galvanize grassroots support.

She jumped wholeheartedly into politics in 1998 as a supporter of then-San Diego City Councilwoman Christine Kehoe's congressional campaign. Kehoe, one of four open lesbians who ran for Congress that year, was narrowly defeated by incumbent Brian Bilbray in California's 49th district. Plasencia supported Kehoe's successful campaigns for state Assembly in 2000 and state Senate in 2004.

In volunteering for Kehoe, Plasencia developed contacts that brought her into the San Diego Democratic Club. She was elected chairwoman of the 360-member club's Women's Caucus in 1999 and executive vice president in 2001.

Last fall, she was elected to NOW's National Board representing the Southwest region. In January, Plasencia was unanimously re-elected executive vice president of the San Diego Democratic Club.

A tenacious activist for equality, Plasencia advocated passionately for women, the LGBT community, and ethnic diversity. She was an avid reader, a student of feminist theory, and an aficionado of women’s music.