Faces of New Bedford

Meet Justine Santos, 36-year-old Assistant Principal at Congdon Elementary School. Justine was born and raised in New Bedford and after graduating high school, she went on to further her education at Temple University. She eventually transferred to UMass Dartmouth to be closer to home, where she finished her degree in …

Meet Vernon Miles, 38-year-old Area Sales Manager for Caliber Home Loans. Vernon originally grew up in Central Massachusetts, but moved out to the area for school. He ended up getting into banking as a teller for Fleet bank. He quickly moved up through the bank and got involved with business …

Meet Justin Coelho, 36-year-old Registered Nurse and Owner of Crossfit Dartmouth. Justin had always loved and played sports and upon graduating high school, he went to St. Anselm College where he studied Biology to become a doctor and play football. Upon completion of his degree, he realized quickly that he …

Meet Caroline Paradis, 39-year-old Reiki Practitioner and Meditation instructor. Caroline grew up in South Carolina but moved up to the area to potentially move to Boston or Providence for work, but fell in love with New Bedford and decided to stay in the area. She got into working with nonprofits …

Meet Bernadette Souza, 50-year-old executive director of Youth Opportunities Unlimited. Bernadette grew up in the south end of New Bedford in Bay village during the 1970s. She is thankful for the people who took her under their wing and her church, Our Lady of the Assumption, because it was those …

Meet Chris Resendes, 40-year-old Court Services Coordinator, Co-Owner of Guns of Mass, and host of the Chis Resendes show. Upon graduating from high school, Chris joined the Air Force and during his time in the air force he also worked for the sheriff’s department as a correctional officer from 1998 …

Meet Joe Neves, 54-year-old Associate Director of Dennison Memorial Community Center. Joe grew up in Austin, Texas due to his father’s, a New Bedford native, Air Force commitments in Texas. During his time at the University of Texas Austin, he traveled to Massachusetts to work as a beach worker at …

Meet Manny DeBrito, 42-year-old Head of Election Commission and co-founder of A’s b4 J’s. Manny grew up in the city and graduated from Bishop Stang in 1992. He then attended Bridgewater State and received his bachelor’s degree in Management Science in 2000. Manny worked for several financial firms in Boston …

Meet Jen Blum, 40-year-old esthetician and founder of the Help Save Foundation. Jen, like many women today, was trapped in an abusive relationship for 13 years and nobody had any idea. After mustering the courage, she planned an escape and took her two sons with her. After an unsuccessful attempt …

Meet Sara Achorn, 18-year-old student and Miss New Bedford. Sara has always been involved in music and singing, starting as early as she can remember. As a teenager, she started training vocally with the mother of Jillian Zucco, the 2016 Miss New Bedford, and was introduced to Jillian at that …