In this section
Former Executives and Board Members
Steven Nascimento
Executive Director/Secretary/Treasurer
Steven Nascimento joined the Portuguese American Citizenship Project in 2013, and serves as the current Executive Director, Secretary and Treasurer. Prior to joining the Project, Mr. Nascimento served as the District Director for California State Senator Anthony Cannella (SD-12) and U.S. Congressman Dennis A. Cardoza (CA -18).
Mr. Nascimento is the son of Azorean immigrants, and was born in Turlock, California where he currently serves as a member of the Turlock City Council. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the CSU Stanislaus, Center for Portuguese Studies, the Turlock Salvation Army Community Advisory Board, and is former City of Turlock Parks, Recreation and Community Commissioner.
Mr. Nascimento holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from California State University, Stanislaus and lives in Turlock, California with his wife Alexis and their son Levi.
Dr. Elmano Costa
President - California
Born in Terceira, Azores, Dr. Costa immigrated to California at age 10. He went on to earn a Doctorate of Education from the University of the Pacific and is currently a Professor of Teacher Education and Department Chair at California State University, Stanislaus - where he has served as the Director of the College's Center for Portuguese Studies for the past 18 years.
In April 2008, Dr. Costa was elected to the "Conselho das Comunidades" (Council of Communities) representing immigrants in the Western United States. He is a founding member of the Portuguese Education Foundation of Central California and past president, founder, and chair of the Board of Directors of the Valley Area Living Enabling Resources (VALER), a social services referral agency serving the Portuguese community in Central California, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Portuguese Heritage Publications.
On June 10, 2008, Dr. Costa received the title of "Comendador da Orden de Instrução Pública" from the President of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva. He is also a recipient of the "Causa Portuguesa" award, bestowed by the União Portuguesa do Estado da Califórnia (UPEC), the California State University, Stanislaus Alumni Service Award, and the Portuguese Education Foundation of Central California Outstanding Leadership Award .
Dr. Elmano Costa lives in Turlock, California with his wife Albertina and their two sons, Paulo and Daniel.
Maria Fernanda Ricardo
Vice President - California
Maria Fernanda Ricardo is a native of Portugal with deep roots in the Azorean Island of her birth, Saint George. She is a licensed Realtor and a staff member with the Santa Clara County school system, and previously served as the President of the Portuguese American Citizenship Project
Ms. Ricardo has been an active member of the Portuguese-American community in California's Bay Area. In 1996, she led a grass roots movement to represent the concerns of the Portuguese immigrant community to the Santa Clara City Council, and founded the Portuguese American Forum of Santa Clara. In 2000, this organization became one of the first participants in the Portuguese American Citizenship Project.
With the support of the Portuguese American Forum of Santa Clara, she brought together local Portuguese American organizations to raise awareness of the issues facing the Portuguese community in Santa Clara. As part of this effort, Ms. Ricardo organized a candidate's night, which provided a forum for Portuguese-Americans in the community to address local candidates and voice their concerns about issues impacting the community. The candidate nights continue to be a successful tool for advocating the interests of the Portuguese community in Santa Clara, and have been used as a model for similar efforts in communities throughout the U.S.
Maria Fernanda Ricardo continues to be active in the Portuguese-American community and currently serves as the Vice-President of the Portuguese American Citizenship Project.
Maria do Carmo Pereira
Director - New Jersey
Born and raised in Portugal, Maria do Carmo Pereira immigrated to the U.S. in 1981. Since that time, she has been active in promoting increased civic engagement in the Portuguese communities of New Jersey.
Maria do Carmo Pereira is the Associate News Editor at Luso-Americano Newspaper in Newark and serves on the board of the Portuguese-American Congress of New Jersey. She also serves as a member of the Ironbound Boys and Girls Club of Newark, and the Sport Club Português of Newark, New Jersey, and the Kearny Urban Enterprise Zone Commission.
Maria do Carmo Pereira attended Liceu de Viana do Castelo, in Portugal, and the Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, and continued her education in the United States at Rutgers-Newark University, with a focus on English and History.
David J. Andrade
Director - Rhode Island
David Andrade was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island and was raised in Seekonk, Massachusetts - where he was recently elected to the Seekonk Board of Selectmen in 2014. Mr. Andrade holds a Master's of Architecture from Roger Williams University, and works as a Senior Project Manager at William Starck Architects, Inc.
Mr. Andrade currently serves as the Vice President of the Portuguese American Citizens Committee of Rhode Island, where he previously served as the President and Treasurer. He also served as the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Advisory Board for the Institute of Portuguese and World Lusophone Studies at Rhode Island College, and as a member of the Advisory Board for the Providence Portuguese Consulate in 2012.
David Andrade joined the Portuguese American Citizenship Project in 2009, and currently resides in Seekonk, Massachusetts with his wife, Diana, and their two children.
Helena DaSilva Hughes
Director – Massachusetts
Helena DaSilva Hughes is the Executive Director the New Bedford Immigrants' Assistance Center where she has been working with the immigrant community for over 30 years.
Mrs. Hughes developed and implemented the first information exchange on forcibly repatriated Portuguese citizens in 2006 and initiated the first student immigrant high school program focused on citizenship and civic involvement. Mrs. Hughes was also instrumental in developing the AMIGOS project, an effort to address the high school dropout rates amongst students for whom English was not their first language.
Ms. Hughes continues to be a strong advocate for immigrant populations, and is a co-founder of the Women Immigrant Support Hub (WISH), a support group that was established by mothers, sisters and wives to express anger and grief over unjust deportations.
Ms. Hughes currently serves on the Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, the Governor's Advisory Council on Immigrants and Refugees, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, the New Bedford Advisory Board of the Department of Transitional Assistance, the New Bedford Economic Development Council, the Greater New Bedford Vocational High School Advisory Board, and the SouthCoast Hospital Community Benefits Advisory Board.
Mrs. Hughes holds Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a minor in Paralegal Studies from Newbury College. She is also a graduate of the Leadership SouthCoast Program from the University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth.
James McGlinchey
Director
James McGlinchey was the founding Coordinator of the Portuguese American Citizenship Project, and served in that capacity from 1999 – 2009.
Prior to joining the Project, Mr. McGlinchey served in the U.S. Air Force from 1967 to 1972, and worked as a Foreign Service Officer of the U.S. Department of State for 24 years. During his career he was posted to assignments in Poland, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and Portugal. He also served as the Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, and worked in the office of the Special Trade Representative, and at the Department of State, as the Chief of the Office for Intellectual Property and Competition in Washington, DC.
Mr. McGlinchey holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Rutgers University, a Master's degree in Economics from South Dakota State University, a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Kansas and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University.
Dr. Antonio Borba
Director – California
Dr. Antonio Borba has thirty-three years of experience working in school administration and teaching, eighteen of which he spent as a school superintendent. Dr. Borba later went on to become an Associate Professor for Advanced Studies in Education at CSU, Stanislaus, where he served for two years before joining the Portuguese American Citizenship Project as its Executive Director in 2010. Upon his retirement in 2013, Dr. Borba was elected to the Board of Director, and continues to play an important role in the project.
Dr. Borba is very active in his community, and was the first President of the Portuguese Cultural Center, which later became the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, and the first President of the Portuguese Education Foundation of Central California. He was instrumental in chartering the Rotary Club of Salida, California and serves as its President. During his professional career, he also served as the chairperson of the local Special Education Local Plan Agency (SELPA), President of the Association of Low-Wealth Schools, and President of the Central Region School Insurance Group (CRSIG).
Dr. Borba completed his Doctoral work at the University of the Pacific, and earned his master's and bachelor's degrees from California State University, Stanislaus. Dr. Borba lives in Turlock with his wife, Mary. Together they have three children and six grandchildren.
Dr. Frank Sousa
Director – Massachusetts
Frank F. Sousa is professor of Portuguese and director of the Saab-Pedroso Center for Portuguese Culture and Research at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. He is the author of O Segredo de Eça and has twice been a Fulbright Scholar at the National Library in Lisbon, Portugal.
Dr. Sousa also spent time at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, where he proposed and led the campaigns to create the Summer Program in Portuguese, the Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture, the Department of Portuguese, the Hélio and Amélia Pedroso/Luso-American Foundation Endowed Chair in Portuguese Studies, the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives and Tagus Press.
Dr. Sousa is a Comendador da Ordem do Infante D. Henrique, bestowed upon him by the Government of Portugal in 1997, and a recipient of the Medalha de Mérito, awarded by the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in 2010. He holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic Languages and Literatures and an M.A. in Portuguese from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Santa Clara.
Fernando Rosa
Director – Connecticut
Fernando Goncalves Rosa is the current Deputy Executive Director of HEDCO, Inc., a non-profit organization that has been providing financial assistance to small and medium size business in the state of Connecticut since 1979. Prior to joining HEDCO, Mr. Rosa managed a successful travel agency for 30 years with his late wife Graciette.
Along with his family and friends, Mr. Rosa established the Graciette M.Rosa Scholarship at Central Connecticut State University, and the Rosa-Simão Scholarship Fund – both of which support the education of Portuguese-American students. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States (PALCUS).
Mr. Rosa also serves as a Commissioner on the Newington Economic Development Commission, the Director of Capital Workforce Partners, Founding Director of the Portuguese Foundation of Connecticut, and a member of the Economic Council of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Hartford, Connecticut.
Mr. Rosa's service to the community has resulted in various awards and recognitions, including the Order of Merit "Comendador" insignia from President Cavaco Silva of the Republic of Portugal in 2010, the Portuguese Foundation Founders Award, the Friends of Brazil Award; the Spanish American Merchant Association Community Award, and the Wethersfield Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year Award.
Mr. Rosa holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Central Connecticut State University, and has taken advanced courses at the University of Hartford. He is also a licensed Realtor, and serves as a Justice of the Peace and Notary Public.
