Meet Scott O’Brian, 27-year-old owner of Toyz4Boyz. Growing up in the area, Scott’s father had always been an entrepreneur, owning a bunch of different businesses. One of those businesses was a hobby store, where he sold, fixed, and repaired RC vehicles. Naturally, Scott fell in love with the vehicles and would race them, even competing in national competitions.

Over the years his father’s businesses brought them across the country, eventually landing them back in Fall River, where his father, along with his uncle, started Toyz4Boyz which specialized in RC vehicles and jet ski repair and sales. The company eventually relocated to New Bedford and Scott would work in the shop throughout his teenage years.

Once Scott had gotten older and was working for the U.S. Postal Service, his father was at a crossroad with the company, as he had a fish sales company that was taking his full attention. Rather than sell the company to someone else, he offered it to Scott and with his history in the industry, Scott decided to continue on his father’s legacy.

At Toyz4Boyz, Scott specializes in all types of RC vehicles, selling and repairing cars, trucks, drones, and boats. The shop is also the home to a race track, where they hold weekly and monthly race events. Recently, Scott has even held a charity race, where all of the raffle and entry fees went to the American Heart Association in memory of one of his customers who had passed of heart failure.

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.

Meet Marley Dauphin, 9-year-old actress and singer. As far back as she can remember, she always remembers singing. Her mother even told her of the numerous times that she would hum to music, well before she could even talk.

As she got older and her mother saw her continued desire to act out different skits around the house and sing along to her favorite songs. After some research, her mother got her involved with a talent agency around the age of 7, which has helped tremendously in helping Marley pursue her dreams of becoming an entertainer.

Since working with the agency she has work with several companies and brands, such as General Electrics, Hasbro, Disney, and Star Wars, acting in over 10 commercials which are and will-be airing nationally and internationally. Her most prominent role to date is as the daughter of Pedro Pasquel’s, The Equalizer 2. Harley says that working with Denzel was such an amazing experience and he encouraged her, saying that he sees a great talent in her. Her hope is to go on and star in her own TV show, a mix of Glee and Punky Brewster, with the hope of inspiring girls across the world to be positive, humble, and kind.

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.

Meet Jocelynn Cabral, 30-year-old waitress and spin class instructor. Growing up, Jocelynn developed bad eating habits, which followed her into adulthood. After meeting her husband and eventually getting married, they both carried this habits into their relationships. After having their children, they noticed their children picking up these same tendencies and that’s when she knew they needed to make changes in her lifestyle.

Starting with yoga and eventually discovering spin at LA Cycle in Dartmouth, she was encouraged by all of her classmates to continue this journey she had begun. With adjustments to their diets and continued work, they both collectively lost over 200 pounds.

Her newfound passion for nutrition and wellness pushed her to take the 100-hour course, allowing her to teach spin classes herself. She saw the change in her mindset during this process and wanted to be able to help others find that like she had herself. She now teaches several classes a week at LA Cycle and hopes to continue to grow and help others.

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.

Meet Alex Moniz, 24-year-old owner of The Breakfast Club Clothing and Trim Supervisor at Josep Abboud. Growing up Alex was always interested in clothes and fashion, really developing a passion for streetwear. As he got older, he played around with the idea of starting a clothing line but didn’t really pursue it right away. It was while he was studying at UMass Dartmouth that he got a job working at Joseph Abboud, where he began in the AccuMark Department, making the patterns of suits using computer software.

It was during this time that his passion for creating his own clothing company came to life. He dubbed it “The Breakfast Club,” a play on the 80s coming-to-age tale and his goal with the brand was to mirror the movie in more than just a name. His model for the brand was to bring together people from all different groups of people, just like in the movie, who share one common bond in fashion and streetwear.

Since starting the brand he has seen the brand grow through local word-of-mouth and social media. He’s sold his products in the Dartmouth Mall and has been able to ship orders across the country. He hopes to be able to grow to a place where he is not only selling internationally but making a living from the brand.

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.

Meet Amanda Ormseth, 25-year-old Elementary Teacher and Buti Yoga Instructor. Amanda grew up in New Bedford and after graduation, she spent a lot of times waitressing and bartending while attaining her English degree from UMass Dartmouth. Knowing she didn’t want to continue working in restaurants, she applied for a substitute teaching position with at Carney Academy.

After starting her position at the school, she attained a full-time position teaching third grade. While working her job at Carney and Freestone’s, she spent a lot of her free time attending yoga classes, where she felt she was able to focus on mindfulness and inward reflection. The passion she had began to grow and after attending a Buti Yoga class her friend invited her to, she was sure she needed to learn more.

She began her certification with Tara from Ritual Sweat Society and in March was certified to teach Buti Yoga. Shortly after receiving her certification, she was asked to teach at their new location in Providence, which she has been doing for the last few weeks. She is also in the process of getting her 200 hour Yoga certification, so she can expand her reach as a teacher. Her hope as a Yogi is to help others realize the importance of mindfulness and pushing yourself beyond what you think is possible for yourself.

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.

Meet Jenny A. Liscombe-Newman, 39-year-old artist and co-owner of TL6 The Gallery. Jenny grew up in Holliston, MA and didn’t realize she wanted to pursue art until a friends mother introduced her to jewelry making in high school. She took some adult education classes to start preparing a portfolio for college and before she knew it, was a freshman at UMass Dartmouth in the Jewelry/Metalsmithing program.

She fell in love with New Bedford, deciding to make it her home after completing school. It was before her senior year that her and her best friend, Arianna Swink, made a pact to open a studio if Arianna didn’t end up at the graduate school she was pursuing. Being turned off by the atmosphere of the school, Arianna stayed in New Bedford and began her journey with Jenny.

Jenny and her now business partner branded themselves under the title Tenacious Lilly, and began crafting their jewelry in a basement studio, selling their wares at home parties and consignment gift shops across the state. After outgrowing their studio, they moved into a space at The White Knight Gallery, now known as TL6 The Gallery. During the recession, the shop owners decided that they weren’t going to continue operation, so Jenny and Arianna took over the shop and re-conceived it to be the gallery it is today, focused on representing local artists while continuing to carry a few hand made retail lines.

Since opening their William Street Shop, Jenny has had the pleasure of meeting so many talented local artists, even assisting 5 students with internships in the store. Not only have they taken on interns, but have helped raise money for a former artist of theirs who was going to be getting a serious medical procedure and collected animal food for a local pet shelter.

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.

Meet Keri Branquinho, 31-year-old behavioural health care worker and Valedictorian of Bristol Community College’s 2018 graduating class.

Keri has always had a love for learning and school, but after graduating high school she was more focused on working hard. She decided that she didn’t feel like she was ready for college, despite receiving multiple sports scholarships to different universities. Working multiple different jobs in her early twenties, she got involved in the field of working with those with behavioural and mental disorders.

When she was 28, after receiving a layoff from her full-time job, she decided that it was a sign to go back to school. She enrolled at Bristol Community College, fully immersing herself into the community there. She soon got involved with the campus’ Honors program and worked towards eventually becoming the president of the International Club her final year at the school. While at the school she also completed two Civic Engagement projects, where she volunteered her time to help run the International Club’s yearly celebration and working an unpaid internship with SEMC, working with students in schools and adults at their day program.

During her last year at the school, Keri received a letter informing her that she was eligible to apply for Valedictorian, the highest honor a graduate can receive. After an intensive interview process, she was selected out of 3 finalists to be the representative for her graduating class.

Keri not only has graduated as Valedictorian but received a full scholarship to Bridgewater State University, where she is going study with a concentration in social work. She intends to eventually open a wellness center, focused in preventive care for many mental and physical ailments.

“We are all individuals but we should all promote unity among diversity.”

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.

Meet Benny Olmeda, 37-year-old Realtor and Sales Manager at RE/MAX Vantage, as well as co-owner of Shop U7. Benny moved to the US at the age of 5 from Puerto Rico with his sister and mother, growing up in the Westlawn housing complex in the cities West End. Wanting to escape the trouble that surrounded him, he worked hard to secure himself a job working in infrastructure in Boston after graduating high school.

Benny’s longtime friend and broker, Eddie Lopez, had always suggested he get into the real estate market, seeing his entrepreneurial mindset and friendly personality. He got licensed and slowly began assisting family and friends with buying and selling their homes. Benny didn’t get heavily involved in the market until 2015 though when he saw the possibilities his talents could achieve for him. Giving himself 6 months, he told himself if he could focus 2 hours a day and weekends to real estate, he would venture into it full-time, which only took a month and a half for him to make the transition.

Since then Benny has been able to help countless local families buy and sell their homes, hoping to help families who were just like his when they moved to New Bedford. Not only has he focused on real estate but pursuing his passions, one of which is his love for the sneaker culture. He and several friends came together to open Shop U7 in 2014, a consignment shop that buys and sells sneakers not only locally, but all over the world. He loves seeing that the store has been able to bring people from across all walks of life together with one sole purpose, collecting their favorite sneakers.

“Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs.”

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.

Meet Josh Amaral, New Bedford School Committee member and Assistant Director of Fuel Assistance and Planning at PACE. Josh spent his entire life in New Bedford, graduating from New Bedford High School in 2011.

Upon graduation, he attended UMass Dartmouth majoring in Political Science with the thought of one day pursuing law school. In his last year at UMass, he began his campaign for School Committee, hoping to make a positive change in the direction that the department was heading at the time. After being elected to the School Committee, he was elected by the community to the PACE Board of Directors, and later took a full time role with the agency as Assistant Director of Fuel Assistance and Planning.

After being elected to the School Committee, Josh and his peers began working diligently to bring reform to the school department. Since working with the committee, he has helped usher in a more professionalized and systemized structure to the school department. They’ve developed better budget management practices and have focused on meeting the needs of the students.

His hope for the future of the department is to bring back the prestige that New Bedford High School once held. Although the school’s conditions and performance have been improving in the last few years, he knows there is still much to be done. Josh hopes to introduce more vocational aspects to the school, allowing students who may not see themselves jumping head first into college the ability to gain skills that will get them employment directly out of high school.

“Work hard, dream big, and give back.” – Qualcomm founder and New Bedford native Irwin Jacobs quoted recently at the ribbon-cutting of the Irwin Jacobs Elementary School.

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.

Meet David Lima, 60-year-old Pastor of New Seasons Worship Center and Executive Minister of the Interchurch Council of Greater New Bedford.

As early as David could remember he had a deep love for God and people, so much of a love that he even stood on a chair during one of their family Thanksgiving celebrations announcing that he would one day be a priest. As a teen though, he fell away from his involvement in the church, until meeting his wife and them both dedicating their lives to serving God.

This started with their involvement at New Seasons Worship Center in the late 80s, pastoring on staff and eventually taking over as senior pastor in 2000. During his time working with the church, David got involved with the Interchurch Council of Greater New Bedford, an organization created almost 80 years ago to create dialogue between over 45 different local churches on how they can serve the community. It was during involvement with the council that appointed him as the executive minister.

The council, under David’s leadership, has been able to combat a good amount of the struggles our city faces. They’ve created the Greater New Bedford Suicide Prevention Coalition in order to reduce the amount of victims lost to suicide in our city and provide intervention and prevention strategies to people of all ages, from students at local schools to professionals in the workplace.

David has helped usher in the police ride alongs, which started to help the police bridge gaps in the communities by walking the beat with chaplains and has grown into the Opioid Task Force, which helps follow up with victims of drug overdoses, providing counsel and resources for them to gain new direction in their lives.

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.