Adeoye "Oye" Owolewa — America’s First Nigerian-American Representative

Adeoye "Oye" Owolewa is America’s First Nigerian-American Representative. Oye represents the District of Columbia.

I made this portrait in 2022 from non-recyclable trash on canvas. It measures 11 X 7.75 inches.

Avril Haines — First Women Director of National Intelligence

During the Obama Administration, Ms. Haines served as the first woman Deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Never one to fit neatly into traditional women's roles, Haines worked as an auto mechanic while earning her BA in physics at the University of Chicago.

I made this portrait in 2021 of non-recyclable trash on canvas. The artwork measures 10.25 x 8.5 inches.

Becca Balint - Vermont's First Woman and First Openly Gay Senate President

This portrait is a one-of-a-kind assemblage. I made it of non-recyclable trash on canvas board and an upcycled frame. The artwork measures 10 x 8 inches.

Windham County, Vermont's voters elected Becca Balint to the state Senate in 2015. In 2021, she was elected Senate president pro tem. She is the first woman and first openly gay person to serve as Vermont Senate President. This portrait is an example of turning trash into a celebration. For many years of Balint's life, and even still by some, being a lesbian was considered an aberration. In 2021, Balint held the highest position in the Vermont Senate. In 2022, she was the first woman from Vermont elected to the US House of Representatives.

Beverly H. Burks, First Black and First Woman Mayor of Clarkston, GA

A federal judge swore in Ms. Burks as mayor on November 30, 2020 — her birthday.

The artwork measures 20 x 16 inches. I made it in 2021.

Brenda Mallory -- First African American to Chair the Council on Environmental Quality

Brenda Mallory was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 14, 2021, and sworn in as the 12th Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). She is the first African American to serve in this position. As Chair, she advises the President on environmental and natural resources policies that improve, preserve, and protect public health and the environment for America’s communities. She focuses on addressing the environmental justice, and climate change challenges the nation faces while advancing opportunities for job growth and economic development. Mallory was raised in Waterbury, Connecticut, where she experienced environmental injustice firsthand.

I made this portrait in 2021. It measures 10.35 X 8.75 inches.

Brett Kavanugh — First Supreme Court Justice to Contract COVID.jpeg

Cecilia Rouse — First African American to Chair the Council of Economic Advisors

When President Biden nominated Rouse, he called her "one of the most distinguished economists in the country; an expert on labor economics, race, poverty, and education." The Senate voted 95 to 4 to confirm her to lead the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA).

This portrait honors Rouse for standing up to the discrimination, harassment, exclusion, and hostility women often face in her field.

It measures 8.25 X 11.25 inches.

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure — First Black Woman Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Med

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure is the first Black woman confirmed to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Brooks-LaSure helped build the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and helped convert the law into policy at CMS and its umbrella agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

I made this portrait in 2022. It measures 6 X 6 inches.

Christopher Benjamin — First Muslim American Elected to Any State Office in Florida

I made this portrait in 2023 from non-recyclable trash on board. It measures 9 X 5 inches.

Cori Bush (D-MO) — First Black Woman Elected to Congress from Missouri

In addition to serving Missouri as one of its representatives to congress, Ms. Bush is a nurse, activist, and clergy.

I made this artwork in 2021 from non-recyclable trash on canvas. The artwork measures 20 x 16 inches.

Cynthia Lummis (R) — First Woman U.S. Senator from Wyoming

This portrait is a one-of-a-kind assemblage made from non-recyclable trash on canvas board and an upcycled frame. The artwork measures 10 x 8 inches.

Daniella Levine Cava — First Woman Mayor of Miami

Proud wife, mom, and abuela of two. Mayor of Miami-Dade County. Non-Partisan. First woman and first person of Jewish descent to be mayor of Miami.

Women have been considered second-class citizens and relegated to the trash heap for too long. I am raising women through my art by making garbage into something beautiful.

I made this portrait out of non-recyclable trash and repurposed materials. It measures 13 X 10.5 inches. I made it in 2022.

Deanne Criswell — First Woman Director of FEMA

This portrait titled 'Deanne Criswell — First Woman Director of FEMA' is a one-of-a-kind assemblage. I made it of non-recyclable trash on board. The artwork measures 13.5 x 8.5 inches. It is signed and dated on the back in pen. It is gallery-wrapped and ready to hang. I made this artwork in 2022.

Deb Haaland — First Indigenous Person to Lead the Department of Agriculture

This portrait is a one-of-a-kind assemblage. The former New Mexico Representative is the first Native American to lead a Cabinet department and the first to head the federal agency that has wielded influence over the nation's tribes for nearly two centuries.

I made this portrait in 2021 of non-recyclable trash on canvas. The artwork measures 20 x 16 inches.

Dega Dhalac — First African-Born Woman Mayor In the United States

Dega Dhalac is the first African-born female mayor in the United States. Before becoming mayor of South Portland, ME, she was the first Black and Muslim city council member. She was born in Mogadishu, Somalia. She fled Somalia in 1990. Before moving to the United States, she lived in Italy, England, and Canada.

I made this artwork in 2022. It measures 6 X 6 inches.

Eddie Mannis — Along with Torrey Harris, First Openly LGBTQ Elected to Tennessee State Legislature

Esther Agbaje — First Nigerian-American Elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives

Geo Soctomah Neptune – First Trans, Non-binary, and Two-spirit Person Elected to Public Office in Maine

Holly Mitchell wins. L.A. Board of Supervisors is All-Female for the First Time

For the first time in its history, the L.A. Board of Supervisors became all-female due to Holly Mitchell's win in 2020. Previously, Ms. Mitchell was a Senator in the state of California. I made this one-of-a-kind assemblage to honor the political inroads made by African Americans, Asian Americans, Indigenous people, other people of color, LBGTQ+, trans people, and women.

I made this portrait in 2021. It is gallery-wrapped and ready to hang. It measures 10.25 X 8.25 inches.

Iman Jodeh — First Muslim Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives

I made this portrait in 2023 from non-recyclable trash on board. It measures 9 X 5 inches.

Janet Yellen — First Woman Treasury Secretary

Janet Yellen is the first woman treasury secretary, and she is the first woman to chair the federal reserve. Yellen has been confirmed to various positions by the senate five times.

I created this assemblage in 2022. It measures 6 x 6 inches.

Jenifer Rajkumar — One of the First Two South Asians in the Lower House of NY State Legisl

In 2020, Jenifer Rajkumar and Zohran Mamdani were elected to the lower house of the New York legislature. They are the first two South Asians to serve in this position.

This assemblage is made of non-recyclable trash on wood.

Jill Rose Quinn, First Openly Transgender Judge in Cook County, IL

Joshua Query (D) -- First Openly Gender Non-conforming Person Elected to New Hampshire House

Joshua Query was first elected to the statehouse in New Hampshire (NH) in 2018. In 2020, The voters of NH's Hillsborough — district 16 re-elected Query as the first gender non-conforming representative by only 34 votes.

I made this artwork in 2021. It measures 11.25 X 9 inches.

Kamala Harris — First Black, Asian, and Woman and Vice President of The United States of America

Kamala Divi Harris is the first in many categories: Black woman to be elected district attorney in California history, woman to be California's attorney general, Indian American senator, and Black woman and Asian American vice president of the United States of American. Her motto is "You may be the first, but make sure you're not the last."

This artwork measures 29.5 X 20.5 inches.