Faces of New Bedford

Meet John Barboza, 58-year-old Hypnotist with Life Enriching Hypnosis. When John was a child, he was always interested in magic, watching magicians on TV and even learning magic tricks from books he would get from the library. As he got older, the interest in magic was always there but he …

Meet Izaiah Baretto, 26-year-old Personal Training Manager and Functional Training Instructor. Izaiah grew up in the Ben Rose Garden Apartments in the South First Neighborhood, which was riddled with gang-violence and lack of guidance, leaving him in a difficult place. He got involved in sports at a young age at …

Meet Dylan Fagundes, 26-year-old Project Manager at DeMello International Center and owner of Fagundes Realty LLC. Dylan always found himself to be entrepreneurial, saving his allowance in high school to buy equipment to preform odd jobs to be able to landscape, roof, tile, and make general repairs for anyone looking …

Meet Ron Dauplaise, 31-year-old Welder, Custom Fabricator and creator of the ShredyRack. Like most teens, Ron was unsure of what he wanted to do after high school until he started working at his father’s welding shop. After a few years of work with his father at Precision Welding, he knew …

Meet Carlos Chamorro, 31-year-old Graphic Designer. Carlos grew up in Fort Meyers, but relocated to New Bedford after high school to be closer to the rest of his family. After arriving in the city, he began working at The Landing Gift Shop located in New Bedford’s Historical District and immediately …

Meet Eric “Ewreckage” Santos, 19-year-old college student and musical artist. Eric knew from a young age that he wanted to work in the education system, so after graduating from Global Learning Charter Public School, he enrolled in the English/Secondary Education program at Bridgewater State University. He credits GLCPS for providing …

Meet James Perry, 30-year-old Program Retention Counselor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. James grew up in New Bedford and when he was in high school, he wasn’t sure he would ever attend university. He had a 2.2 GPA and because he was a quiet student, he never spoke up …

Meet Djecy Ramos, 37-year-old Sales Representative, and Photographer. Djecy was born in Cape Verde and didn’t move to the United States until he finished high school. While in Cape Verde, he picked up photography when his friends started a band, knowing he wanted to find a way to still be …

Meet Bridgitte Cook, 46-year-old Heath Center Director at SSTAR Family Healthcare Center. Growing up, Bridgette’s life had been impacted by the effects of mental illness, with her mother committing suicide when she was 8 years old and a father who suffered from schizophrenia. After graduating from high school, Bridgitte applied …

Meet Monica Melo, 33-year-old owner and hairstylist of Salon Gigi. Monica was born in Portugal and moved to New Bedford with her parents when she was one. Growing up, she always had a passion for making people look and feel good. When it came time for college she attended Bristol …