Seeding Justice is pleased to announce the most recent winners of the Lilla Jewel Awards, Shalonda Menefee and Dao Strom. The awards—named for the artist, feminist, and suffragist—support Oregon-based artists of marginalized genders advancing social change.
In recognizing the power of art and the work of this year’s awardees, Executive Director Se-ah-dom Edmo says, “Art has always been central to social change. Think of the songs that carried the Civil Rights Movement. The murals that reclaim public space. The poetry that refuses to forget. Art doesn’t just reflect the world—it shapes it. Thank you, Dao and Shalonda, for your efforts.”
Dao Strom is a poet, musician, writer, and interdisciplinary artist who works with three “voices”—the written, sung, visual—to explore hybridity and the intersection of personal and collective histories. She is the author/composer of several literary/music works, including the poetry-art collection, Instrument, which won the 2022 Oregon Book Award for Poetry, and its musical companion of song-poems, Traveler’s Ode, as well as Tender Revolutions/Yellow Songs.
Strom’s work encompasses solo and collaborative projects, music/poetry performance, public art, and visual-poetry installations, and has received support from the Creative Capital Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation, Ford Foundation, and others. She is the co-founder of She Who Has No Master(s), a collective of Vietnamese women writers and artists making polyvocal poetry-art works, as well as de-canon, a literary social art project centering BIPOC writers. Born in Vietnam, Strom grew up in the Sierra Nevadas of northern California and now lives in Portland.
Shalonda Menefee is a dynamic force of transformation, a visionary spiritual practitioner, and a creative healing artist who has dedicated two decades to empowering communities through sacred healing, cultural expression, and holistic wellness.
As the founder and executive director of SISTAS Empowerment Corp., Shalonda has created a sanctuary for Black and African Descent women and girls to heal, thrive, and reclaim their power. Through SISTAS, she curates transformative workshops, events, and initiatives that promote self-care, entrepreneurship, and generational wealth, all while honoring culture, history, and heritage.
Shalonda is also the creator behind SHAMĒN, a spiritual lifestyle brand that blends fashion with healing, freedom, and personal transformation. Her stunning African print garments and headwraps are not just fashion statements but tools of empowerment. Her designs have graced the stages of Pan African Festivals and the Visibly Invisible: Honoring Our Unsung Sheroes Gala.
A third-generation native of Northeast Portland, Shalonda’s deep-rooted commitment to her community shines through her work as a Sacred Woman Practitioner, Spiritual Enrichment Practitioner, Empowerment Coach, Fashion Designer, and Cultural Curator.
Created in 1997, the Lilla Jewel Awards have funded dozens of poets, choreographers, singers, painters, photographers, filmmakers, writers, and other artists embedded in our social justice movements. Each year, the Lilla Jewel Award Committee—composed of former award winners—selects one or more artists to receive an award.
