The Shero Awards is an annual celebration that honors remarkable women for their outstanding accomplishments and advocacy for women’s rights throughout their community and beyond.
The Shero Awards
The 7th Annual Shero Awards
We're excited to share the highlights and success of the 7th Annual Shero Awards!
The event was filled with inspiration as we honored our Sheros, Tana Yasu and Jane Charles. From powerful speeches to heartfelt moments of song and celebration, the event truly embodied the spirit of empowerment and advocacy. As we reflect on the impactful moments of the Shero Awards, we are filled with gratitude. Together, we are making strides towards positive change, and your involvement is crucial in driving this mission forward.
2024 Sheros
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Tana Yasu
Tana Yasu's commitment to ensuring visibility and safety for African American women and all women is vital to our community. Her efforts to unite marginalized communities against oppressive systems are commendable. Tana previously served on the Seattle Women's Commission, where she actively fostered collaboration and inclusivity. Her recent initiatives, including hosting a Juneteenth event and premiering films at Carco Theater, have had a profound impact on empowering the local community. Over the past five years, she has also led an annual domestic violence event, demonstrating her commitment to prioritizing domestic violence as a community health concern and hosting events to address it. Tana Yasu's multifaceted contributions reflect her dedication to fostering positive change and empowerment in our community.
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Jane Charles
Jane Charles is an accomplished film and television producer with a remarkable 22-year career. Her standout achievement includes producing the film "SOLD," inspired by Patricia McCormick's powerful novel. The film won multiple awards at international film festivals and initiated a global movement to combat child trafficking. In addition to her cinematic success, Jane is a passionate advocate against human trafficking. Her involvement with StolenYouth, an organization she co-founded, has been transformative. StolenYouth focuses on fighting trafficking on all fronts and collaborates with several organizations, including BEST (Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking), to make a meaningful impact. Jane's dedication and vision have played a pivotal role in raising awareness and substantial funds to support survivors and prevent trafficking in the Seattle community.
Thank you to our Sponsors
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past sheros
2022
Estela Ortega
Estela Ortega is one of the founders of El Centro de la Raza and serves as its Executive Director since 2009. Her social justice work began in the late 60’s protesting the Viet Nam war, picketing for Farmworker rights, working on political campaigns and registering Chicanos to vote in the barrios of Houston, Texas.
Estela has spent the last 50 years helping build El Centro into a civil rights organization, a hub for all who want to engage in civic action through community empowerment; providing human, educational, housing, economic development, cultural and advocacy programs. Ortega is also responsible for the development of Plaza Roberto Maestas a $45 million community-inspired affordable housing project next to El Centro de la Raza.
Estela’s unwavering commitment to building community and advocating for those most marginalized has earned recognition from the Seattle Seahawks, the National Education Association, the Northwest Progressive Institute, and in 2020 she was named one of the Seattle Times 13 Most Influential People of the Decade.
Agaiotupu Viena
Agaiotupu Viena is an unapologetic fa’afafine and trans woman from Samoa I Sasa’e. She is a fa’afafineist, descendant of celestial navigators, cat mama, and lover of all things Pasifika. Agaiotupu works as the Deputy Director of UTOPIA Washington after 10 years on the Board, serving as the Co-Chair for majority of her time. Since 2018, Agaiotupu has been organizing with the national Trans Agenda for Liberation (TA4L) Coalition and contributed to the creation of the TA4L community-led guide addressing urgent political, legal, and social violence enacted against our communities. She brings years of experience in sex worker advocacy and fights to fully decriminalize sex work, drug use, migrant status, HIV status, poverty at all levels of government through DecrimWA, national and regional gender messaging research in collaboration with Transgender Law Center through her work as the former Director of TRANSformCulture at Pride Foundation.
Since 2020, Agaiotupu co-chairs the first ever Washington State LGBTQ Commission and is a core team organizer /co-founder for the Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network, which provides wrap-around support and low to no-barrier funds to Black and Brown trans women and femmes in Washington. She fights like hell for the body sovereignty of sex workers and sovereignty for all life including the land that provides for us; through policy and systems change, narrative shifts, and generative conflict rooted in love and deep care that grows us as people. Seeing trans people in love, starting families, thriving, and traveling the world brings her joy.
Linda Tosti-Lane
Linda has been a member of NOW since 1981 when she joined as a graduate student in Virginia during the ERA Countdown Campaign. She has also served on the WA State NOW board previously as President, Coordinator, Secretary, Legislative Coordinator and Seattle NOW’s chapter representative to the Board. She is currently the Co-Legislative Coordinator for Seattle NOW. Linda previously served as Seattle NOW’s President, Secretary and Treasurer as well as being a board member for several years. Her passion for the rights of women, children and their families/loved ones led her to serve on the State Legislative Committee for many years advocating for and drafting legislation to improve women and children’s lives here in the State of Washington.
Linda also served four years on the National NOW’s Board of Directors, two of those years as the Northwest Regional Director. She currently is the Treasurer for Washington State NOW Political Action Committee and served on the board for the National NOW PAC for four years.
Linda Tosti-Lane is further active in the Democratic Party, having been the elected precinct committee officer for her precinct since 1990. She has been on the Executive Board for the 1st Legislative District since 1996 having served as the district State Committee Woman for almost 18 years, and two years as the 2nd Vice Chair for the district. She currently serves as the district’s Secretary and is the Vice Chair of the Issues Committee. Linda is also active in the Salish Sea Federation of Democratic Women and their myriad activities.
Linda retired from paid work in 2021 as one of three Regional Area Administrators for WA State’s Safety and Monitoring Section of Licensing in the Department of Children, Youth and Families. She was responsible for overseeing Child Protective Services Investigations throughout childcare, foster care, group care, adoption facilities, Licensing investigations and license renewals in state licensed foster homes. She worked for the state for 38 years. She has no plans on retiring from volunteering – she’s been doing that since she was eight years old, and loves being involved in her community no matter where she is located and will continue to do so once she moves to Italy in 2023.
2021
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Claire Wilson
WA STATE SENATOR, 30th DISTRICT, FEDERAL WAY
Claire Wilson’s legislative work has built on her 25 years at the Puget Sound Educational Services District and years teaching pregnant and parenting teens at Mt. Tahoma High School. She serves as Assistant Majority Whip of the Senate and Vice Chair of the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Committee. Claire also serves on the Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee and the Transportation Committee.
In addition to her legislative roles, Claire serves on the Task Force on Improving Institutional Education Programs and Outcomes, whose focus is to improve the coordination and delivery of education services to youth involved with the juvenile justice system, and the Washington State Leadership Board. Claire is the first openly lesbian State Senator in the history of the state, and is one of seven LGBTQ lawmakers in the Washington State Legislature.
Check out her acceptance video here: https://youtu.be/EGXtLAIIveg
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Alicia Crank
CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER FOR AtWork!
FOUNDER OF EDMONDS WOMEN’S DAY
Alicia Crank is the Chief Development Officer for AtWork!, a highly supportive and innovative conduit between people with disabilities and employers in the community. Prior to this role, she was a leader in major fundraising and partnership roles at YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish, CityYear Seattle and Washington Business Week.
A Detroit native, Alicia held several leadership positions in corporate banking, education, business and the nonprofit sector in Silicon Valley. She began her career in Investment Banking and Cash Management, moved into the high tech industry then eventually into the nonprofit sector as an executive director of a community leadership program as well as nonprofit philanthropy.
In her community volunteerism, Alicia has worked with organizations that serve special needs children, the homeless, workforce and career development and helped organize a city-wide renters/tenants association.
Having moved to Greater Seattle in 2014, she is now one of only a few women of color in corporate philanthropy. Alicia has served on several boards and commissions centered around zoning, land use, environment, community media, ethical community fundraising, equity and inclusion. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the City of Edmonds Planning Board as well as Chair of the Snohomish County / Paine Field Airport Commission.
Alicia is recognized as an impactful community leader and speaker. In 2019, she founded Edmonds International Women’s Day, where their 2021 Keynote Speaker was Sue Bird. She moderated the popular Black In Edmonds discussions during the height of the pandemic, as has been a lead presenter at several conferences including the AFP Advancement Northwest Annual Conference and Forum for Strategic Fundraising, University of Washington’s Fundraising Management Program and Leadership Snohomish County’s Step Up Conference. Earlier this year, Alicia was honored as a Community Leader Finalist at the GSBA Business and Humanitarian Awards.
Check out her acceptance video here: https://youtu.be/xPgCGYonSpw
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Paula Newman-Skomski
FOUNDER OF PEORIA HOME, ARNP
Paula Newman-Skomski is the Founder and Board President for Peoria Home in Everett Washington. Peoria Home is a 2-year residential community providing women who have been exploited through sex trafficking, prostitution, and addiction a safe rent-free home to live in while they work on addiction recovery, trauma therapy, education, and life skills training. Paula has been a Registered Nurse for 37 years, a Family Nurse Practitioner for 10 years, and has spent the past 17 working as a Forensic Nurse Examiner for Providence Intervention Center for Assault & Abuse, which is where she first became aware of the local problem of sex trafficking. She began working towards the Peoria Home program in 2009 and they welcomed their first woman home in 2018. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and military sexual trauma, Paula identifies with many of the women who have come to Peoria Home for refuge and recovery. She provides care and support to all victims of interpersonal violence but feels most passionate about walking beside women as they reclaim their lives.
In addition to her work as a Forensic Nurse Examiner and with Peoria Home, Paula is a member of the Attorney General’s Task Force for developing statewide response protocols for sexual assault and sex trafficking. She was a founding member of the Snohomish County Anti-Trafficking Task Force in 2006 and recently joined the Tulalip Tribes Anti-trafficking Task Force where she is also a member of the multi-disciplinary team for the Tulalip Child Advocacy Center. She is a member of the Dawson Place Child Advocacy Center multi-disciplinary team where Providence Intervention Center for Assault & Abuse is located. Paula provides education and training to other medical professionals and community organizations on human trafficking and interpersonal violence. Paula is a USAF veteran and volunteers with Girl Scouts where she is a lifetime member. She has received numerous awards for her work over the past several years.
Check out her acceptance video here: https://youtu.be/oQ_sQPth5mw
2020
Ijeoma Oluo
Author and Activist
Ijeoma Oluo is the author of the bestsellers So You Want to Talk About Race and Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America. Her work on race has been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post, among many others.
Her work and activism has garnered recognition not only in Seattle but around the country. She has twice been named to the Root 100, and she received the 2018 Feminist Humanist Award and the 2020 Harvard Humanist of the Year Award from the American Humanist Association. The Seattle Met named Oluo one of the 50 most influential women in Seattle in 2018, and the Seattle Magazine named her one of the most influential people in 2015.
Jeri Moomaw
Human Trafficking Expert
Jeri Moomaw is the founder and executive director of Innovations Human Trafficking Collaborative (IHTC). She works in Tribal communities and beyond with trafficking survivors, developing and overseeing prevention and intervention programs, creating curriculum and training modules focusing on combating commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and gender-based violence. As someone who has been personally impacted by trafficking, she has made it her mission to assist survivors on their healing journey, bring awareness, education and provide tools to equip communities and front-line professionals to be able to recognize and respond to trafficking and violence. She is a consultant for Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign and a member of Office of Victim of Crime and Office on Trafficking in persons (NHTTAC) consultant network.
Dr. Helen Chu
Professor and Researcher in Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, and Public Health
Dr. Chu’s research is focused on preventive interventions against influenza, RSV and emerging respiratory viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2. She is a Multiple Principal Investigator of the Seattle Flu Study, which first identified COVID-19 community transmission in the United States, Co-Investigator on the University of Washington Vaccine Trials and Evaluation Unit (VTEU), and Site Principal Investigator for the ACTT-1 trial, which evaluated Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19. Her previous work includes describing transmission patterns of RSV, rhinovirus, and human metapneumovirus, the epidemiology and adverse birth outcomes associated with respiratory viral pneumonia in pregnant women, and the kinetics of transplacental RSV antibody transfer and decay in infants.
2019
Representative Tina Orwall
State Representative, 33rd District
Sage Kealohilani Quiamno
Co-founder of Future for Us
Representative Orwall has been a House Representative for the 33rd district since 2009. Rape kit reform, suicide prevention, anti-trafficking, the Foreclosure Fairness Act, compensation for those wrongly convicted and adoptee rights are among her legislative accomplishments. Her 20 years of experience working in the public mental health system, as well as her expertise in strategic planning in workforce development and affordable housing have established her as a valued legislator and community leader.
Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno is the co-founder of Future for Us, a platform dedicated to advancing womxn of color at work through community, culture and career development. Sage has been mentioned in Forbes and The Seattle Times and has spoken at the high-profile events such as SXSW and the Women’s March. Her drive and enthusiasm to fight for pay equity and women’s advocacy, especially for womxn of color, has launched her to the forefront of the womxn’s rights movement and continues to champion for womxn’s advocacy in the workplace.
2018
Senator Rosa Franklin
Former State Senator, 29th District
Senator Rosa Franklin served in the state legislature for 20 years, from 1990 to 2010, after her prior career in healthcare as a nurse for 42 years. She was the first black woman to be elected to the Washington state legislature, and acted as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1997, 1988 and 2008. Franklin focused on social justice and healthcare during her political career, and her legislative accomplishments include the 2005 Washington Housing Policy Act and starting the Governor’s Interagency Council on Health Disparities.
Abigail Echo-Hawk
Chief Research Officer for the Seattle Indian Health Board
Abigail Echo-Hawk is the Chief Research Officer at Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB), as well as the Director of the Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI), a Division of SIHB, whose mission is to support the well-being of urban Indian communities, nation-wide, through informational outreach and innovative technology.
A dedicated volunteer and member to the Native American Women’s Dialogue on Infant Mortality, the Children and Youth Advisory Board of King County and the Coalition to End Gender-Based Violence, among others; Ms. Echo-Hawk has long advocated for public policy and institutional change that eradicates inequalities for women of color in her community as well as nationwide. Her focus has often been in areas concerning maternal and child health, domestic violence, sexual assault and health disparities.
2017
Sarah Weddington
The litigator who argued, and won, the landmark Roe v. Wade case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court