StoryFest 2025
Community Showcases
11:15 - 12:10 - Council Chambers
Baking a Better World: Sweet Potato Comfort Pie® as a Recipe for Justice and Healing
Led by Andrena Seawood, Jewelean Jackson, and Kate Towle
Our showcase will invite participants into a heart-centered exploration of how cultural food traditions, like the iconic sweet potato pie, can serve as catalysts for racial justice, healing, and connection. Through storytelling, reflection, and the powerful act of sharing pie, the showcase highlights how Sweet Potato Comfort Pie® fosters multicultural alliances, bridges generations through youth and elder mentorships, and creates spaces that honor both personal and collective narratives. Rooted in the philosophy of “calling people in” rather than “calling people out,” the event emphasizes the importance of weaving our unique cultural gifts into a rich community tapestry—one that not only acknowledges pain and trauma but also uplifts resilience, joy, and the shared humanity that binds us.
Ms. Andrena Seawood is a native Baltimorean who has been in Minnesota for over 14 years. Being an agent of change in her community was cemented while working beside her former spouse, a faith leader in the Minneapolis community. That experience was a springboard to work with Sweet Potato Comfort Pie® over the last ten years. One of her life mottos is “Everyone can be great because everyone can be kind.” At the SPCP 10th Annual Holiday of Service, Ms. Seawood received an Upholding Beloved Community Award for her dedication to fostering unity, compassion, and healing within our community.
Ms. Jewelean Jackson is an Elder Community Servant with the philosophical action of life-long learning from the cradle to the grave. She is the Lifetime National Ms. Kwanzaa and speaks to Kwanzaa as a way of life. Ms. Jackson believes that safe, quality, affordable housing is a human right that every citizen deserves. Her mission is to challenge stereotypes of homelessness, empowering others to see their options and shape their reality. She is co-founder of Vegan Byy Nature with her daughter, Thandisizwe Jackson-Nisan, a wellness and anti-violence strategy for healing the hood. Finally, Ms. Jackson also consults with the Minnesota Interagency on Homelessness to advance the Housing Justice Plan.
Ms. Kate Towle has worked with schools and organizations to foster best practices for engaging community in the challenges of our times. In 2011, she won the St. Paul Foundation's Facing Race Idea Challenge by a community vote, prompting intergenerational dialogues about racial healing between students and community. In 2022, Ms. Towle received the Batter that Matters Award from Sweet Potato Comfort Pie®. She was recognized for her contributions as a community connector and steadfast advocate for equity and justice. Ms. Towle’s novel, Sweet Burden of Crossing, is about interracial friendship.
2:30-3:30 - McLeod
Tending the Heart: Stories of Medicine, Community, and Care
Lead presenter: Tseganesh Selameab, Associate Director, Center for the Art of Medicine
Stories are at the heart of how we connect, heal, and make sense of the world. In this interactive workshop, the Center for the Art of Medicine (CFAM) invites you to explore the power of storytelling in building community and shaping the practice of medicine. Through shared experiences, we’ll highlight our work—from intimate story slams that bring people together to collaborations with Twin Cities Public Television and the integration of narrative into medical education. Together, we’ll reflect on how stories foster empathy, strengthen relationships, and transform both patient care and medical learning. Whether you are a storyteller, a caregiver, or simply someone who believes in the power of human connection, join us for a conversation about the stories that shape us—and the ways we can use them to tend the heart of medicine and community.
Tseganesh Selameab is a wife and mother to three creative and amazing girls, all living in St. Paul, MN. She is an internal medicine & public health doctor by day, and a medical educator and disruptor by night. Storytelling and narrative medicine has been a part of Tseganesh’s medical journey for many years and she has been invited to share her written work at the University of Minnesota Medical School White Coat ceremony, at Regional medical conferences, and has participated in several local story slams.