“The 100 Women of Color” will honor three women who are well-known in the Norwich area and are also affiliated with the Norwich Arts Center. LaShawn Cunningham, Laura DelGado-Clemons and Sharece Sellem will be honored at a gala designed to honor those amongst us who have had a positive impact in their communities.

The event will be held at 6 p.m. Friday May 21, at the Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center.

Tickets can be purchased at www.100WOC2021.Eventbrite.com

Laura DelGado-Clemons

Laura grew up on Boswell Avenue and Lake Street Playground in Norwich and currently resides in Boston with her husband Curtis. They have three beautiful daughters Christina, Courtney and Catrice and a granddaughter, Jaiya.

She attended Broad Street School, graduating from Kelly Junior High School; then graduating from NFA Class of 1968.

Laura graduated from Newbury School of Business, UMass Boston (1986) BA, Lesley (College) University School of Education 1997; MEd. She worked at Massachusetts General Hospital in several roles before pursuing teaching. Laura volunteered with the Big Sister Association of Boston and became a Big Sister to a young girl, Emily, who has become a lifelong friend.

Laura currently works as an English as a Second Language teacher in the Boston Public Schools and has been a Boston Teacher’s Union school representative for the last 15 years.

Laura grew up with music all around her. Her father, Tony DelGado and his brothers were jazz musicians in the 1930s and 40’s and opened up for some of the greats such as Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway and Nat King Cole. The gift of music flows through the veins of the DelGado family and their descendants.

Laura has a small band, d’Allegro, with a big sound. She enjoys performing and has been influenced by many great musicians ranging from jazz, blues, R&B, classic rock, contemporary and easy listening music.

Laura and keyboard player Bob Shea donated their time during COVID and performed for NAC at an outdoor fundraiser on Sept. 4, 2020, and will do so again at the Donald L. Oat Theater at 7 p.m. Friday, May 28.

In the past, Laura was part of the Summer Concert Series at Howard T. Brown Park; sang the National Anthem at Dodd Stadium, and performed at NAC.

Laura also sings within the Boston Community for benefits and summer venues, and at the end of each school year, she puts on a concert with her students.

Growing up, her father would always tell her to stop singing at the dinner table, says Laura. She would stop, and then minutes later, would start singing again. It was a losing battle! She always had a song or jingle in her head. Music soothes her soul and lifts her spirits. She just loves to sing!!!

Sharece M. Sellem

Sharece is a native of Hartford, and is a playwright, choreographer, director and performing arts instructor based out of New Haven. She was trained by Headlong Performance Institute of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and Yale University’s Practical Approach to Directing Summer Program 2014.

Her resume includes performances at Bregamos Community Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, Pride Arts Center of Chicago, Charter Oak Cultural Center, Carriage House Theater, Illinois Voices Theatre, Norwich Arts Center, University of California-San Diego and more. She is the founder of Vintage Soul Productions LLC (www.VintageSoulProductions.com).

Some of her most notable recent works include the award-winning play, “Daisies on Harlem’s Doorstep” and the Dr. Floyd Gaffney Playwriting Award for “The African American Experience,” University of California, San Diego. This play was performed at the NAC Donald L. Oat Theater Feb. 21-23, 2020.

Other notable works include “Becoming La Baker,” a one-woman show written, directed, choreographed and performed by Sellem; “A Tribute to Josephine Baker,” performance piece with songs, dance and media written, performed and produced on Feb. 2, 2018, as part of the Miss Lottie’s Cafe series in Norwich.

She also directed The New Haven Play Project 2020 at Long Wharf Theatre, which became a virtual performance during the pandemic.

In addition, she curated and directed the Quick Quarantined Play Festival that created opportunities for playwrights and actors to devise work virtually during the pandemic for 12 rounds.

“Behind the Curtain of COVID-19,” plays by Sharece M. Sellem, were directed and produced by Coelensense Theater of Bloomington, Illinois.

LaShawn Cunningham

LaShawn is a 2003 Norwich Free Academy alumnus, a mother of three, and a community leader.

She is a licensed foster parent through the Waterford Country School and works at the Oak Hill Connecticut Institute for The Blind.

Cunningham is also the founder and director of Blooming into Greatness, which is a nonprofit youth organization.

She has received the 2016 Norwich NAACP Robertsine Duncan Youth Council President Award.

Her community service began when she served as a youth leader at Tabernacle of Deliverance and Praise. She also started a dance company, Unique Praise Anointed Worship, when she was a youth leader.

LaShawn has produced shows at the Donald L. Oat Theater: “A Black History Collection” (2015); “Uncaged” (2015); “The Evolution of Music Through African Americans” (2016); “Naked Open and Exposed” (2017); “Kwanzaa Celebration” (2018).

LaShawn joined the Norwich Arts Center Board of Directors on March 24. Her current project is as Lead Instructor for “Dancing Our Heritage,” an after school enrichment virtual program for the Norwich Public Schools that runs through May 28.

Roberta J. Vincent lives in New London and is a member of the Norwich Arts Center Board and NFA Alumni Board.