This event had a notable impact on her art, inspiring her to move from abstract to figurative work and to address themes of protection, bravery, and sanctuary.

This work references the #MeToo movement, and her non-profit is in the process of collecting stories from women sexually abused in the art world.

Inspired by the displacement of people from war-torn countries, as well as her own experience on 9/11, Stein creates assemblages which bring to mind the interiors of homes abandoned by individuals forced to flee for safety.

[5] Reference image right: Cases 886,855,872,873,874 Holocaust Heroes: Fierce Females is one of Stein's major traveling exhibitions which began going to museums and universities in 2015.

This body of work contains ten tapestries inspired by historical accounts of women who actively intervened to save Jews from Nazi persecution.

Heroes featured include Anne Frank, Noor Inayat Khan, Ruth Gruber, Nancy Wake, Nadezhda Popova, Hannah Senesh, Hadassah Bimko Rosensaft, Zivia Lubetkin, Vitka Kempner, and Gertrud Luckner.

[6] This body of work also contains her Spoon to Shell series, which consists of 20 assemblage sculptures which contemplate the sacrifice and bravery of Holocaust victims who were sexually abused.

[7] Reference image right: Ten Heroes 859 Stein made larger-than-life wall sculptures as well as free-standing torsos with "skins" of black leather and mixed media that were intentionally androgynous.

Reference image right: Shell Homes 723 In 2009, Stein attached shoulder straps to her figurative sculpture, allowing the work to be worn like armor.

She invited visitors to her studio to experience "body-swapping": donning the "sculptural avatars" and imagining what it would feel like to be in a differently gendered body.