Please welcome the November issue of San Diego Magazine to the world. Readers will find three epic women staring at them and inside, the conversations and stories and photos that mark their lives and work. We’re proud of this issue, dedicated to the women of San Diego. The ones making dents, un-tilting the dance floor.

On the cover: three bright stars.

LEFT: Dr. Kat Echazarreta, who is literally and figuratively fighting gravity. The 26-year-old engineer is the youngest woman (and first Mexican-born woman) to go to space. A binational advocate for STEM, raised in Chula Vista by her mom.

CENTER: Alex Morgan—World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and captain of San Diego’s record-setting women’s professional soccer team, San Diego Wave FC. She and her mates on the U.S. Women’s National Team successfully won a $24 million settlement to establish equal pay for the USWNT.

RIGHT: Khea Pollard—entrepreneur, community-builder, and co-founder of the Black Women’s Resilience Project. Khea and her mother built Café X, a cafe that also serves as an empowerment center to achieve financial equity for San Diego’s Black community. She’ll be our keynote speaker at this year’s “Celebrating Women” event—Nov. 17 at Town & Country Resort.

Three women–changemakers, dreamers, activists—advancing gender equality in our city and beyond.

Historically, our November issue’s main feature is dedicated to the undeniable power of San Diego women. This year, we’re weaving their stories into nearly every page. Pop singer Jackie Mendoza talks returning to Chula Vista from Brooklyn, ukulele in tow, to record her upcoming album. TikTok star and San Diego native Dylan Mulvaney opens up about creating an online community–8 million followers and counting–through documenting her life as a transgender woman. Danyelle Wolf, three-time USA boxing national champion-turned-MMA fighter, invites us into the ring.