Faces of New Bedford

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 …

Meet Heather Dextradeur, 45-year-old Assistant Director at Lifestream and Bridges-To-Faith Coordinator with Better Community Living. Heather got involved with working with the developmentally disabled community when she was 24-years-old, as a student at BCC. Starting in direct care with Lifestream, she fell in love with her work and has never …

Meet Angelee Contreras, 33-year-old owner of Privy Boutique. Angelee grew up as a first generation citizen, with her father coming from Spain and her mom from Puerto Rico. Her parents always worked hard to provide for their children and taught them the importance of hard work ethics. This push Angelee …

Meet John Masella, 38-year-old Attorney. John grew up in upstate New York and knew that he wanted to work in the justice system from a young age. After attending the State University of New York – Plattsburgh, he decided to attend Southern New England School of Law, now Umass Law …

Meet Lana Collins, 21-year-old Student and Case Manager. Growing up, Lana witnessed those suffering from substance abuse and mental health issues within her family and this gave her the drive to help others. After graduating from high school, Lana began studying at Rhode Island college, bouncing between different majors. It …

Meet Henry Bousquet, 42-year-old Lead Instructor of the Culinary Arts Program at Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech. Growing up, Henry’s mother suffered from Multiple Sclerosis, which put him in a position to help her around the kitchen, learning to cook from a very young age. When his mother passed away at …

Meet Samie-Jo Prata, 28-year-old hairdresser. Growing up, Samie spent lots of time in salons, as her mother was a nail technician. This got her interested in the field of hairdressing and cosmetology but was advised against it from her parents, who felt she would make a better living if she …

Meet Jose Carrion, 44-year-old owner of Casual Entertainment and Travel Consultant. Jose grew up in the Bronx, New York, where he became involved in the music business at an early age. As an artist in the group Lethal Package, he produced a few albums and even toured up and down …

Meet Marc Cordeira, a 42-year-old consultant and owner of Kraken Golf. Throughout his childhood, Marc was always creating something and involved in sports, mostly basketball. It wasn’t until after high school that he found golf, and immediately fell in love with the sport, play with friends at local courses. Marc …