Margery V. “Ruby” Dottin
Margery V. “Ruby” Dottin (1922-2020) was the first African American woman to be elected to the New Bedford School Committee in 1976.
Nancy Holt
Internationally-acclaimed artist Nancy Holt (1938-2014), with family roots in New Bedford that informed her life and art, worked in sculpture, landscape design, video, and other media.
Marie A. Nelson
Committed to social justice through music, Marie A. Nelson (1937-2020) was Director of Music Education at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMD) for 27 years.
Ora M. DeJesus
Elders and their caregivers had a dedicated advocate in geriatric nurse practitioner Ora M. DeJesus (1927-2000). Ora was a compassionate clinician, skilled nursing facility manager, university professor, and first executive director of The Gerontology Center at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMD).
Tryne Costa
New Bedford social worker Tryne G. Costa (1922-2018) lived by a poem that she learned as a young girl, “Let me live in my house by the side of the road / And be a friend to man.”
Dora Bastarache
A stitcher in various New Bedford shops, Dora Bastarache (1915-1988) was a true rank-and-file leader in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union in southeastern Massachusetts, where she served as president of that union’s Local 361.
Margaret Xifaras
Hailed as “the first woman of South Coast politics,” Margaret “MarDee” Xifaras (1945-2019), New Bedford lawyer and stalwart Democrat, was a driving force behind creation of the state’s first public law school, the University of Massachusetts School of Law in Dartmouth.
Mary T. Vermette
Deeply rooted in her Azorean heritage, Dr. Mary T. Vermette (1934-2003) worked with the Azorean Maritime Heritage Society and the New Bedford Whaling Museum to promote Azorean culture and the shared whaling heritage between New Bedford and the Azores.
Margaret Ryckebusch
Educator and labor leader Margaret A. Duggan Ryckebusch (1940-1998) was a professor, department head, and union leader at Bristol Community College.
Valentina Almeida
The child of Cape Verdean immigrants, Valentina Almeida (1913-2009) is best known for her advocacy work with immigrants within the local Cape Verdean community.