Kevin G. Andrade is the immigration reporter for The New Bedford Light. A New Bedford native born at St. Luke’s Hospital, he grew up within the city’s vibrant Portuguese-speaking immigrant community. A journalist for over a decade, he stumbled into the field while pursuing his Master’s in Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona between 2010 and 2012. Since then, Kevin’s work has been published in The Boston Globe Magazine, Commonwealth Beacon, GBHNews, The Guardian, The Providence Journal, The Public’s Radio, O Jornal: The Portuguese Journal, The New York Times, The Standard-Times, The Washington Post, and other notable publications. In 2025, he received a grant from The Fund for Investigative Journalism to pursue an investigation in Connecticut.

A fluent Portuguese and Spanish-speaker, Kevin focuses on issues that bring to light the life of immigrants and their communities. Since March, Kevin has been working with The Light to cover ICE raids and their impacts on New Bedford.

In his personal life, Kevin loves to read and is a big fan of Mia Couto, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Arundhati Roy, and other authors in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. He is a massive history buff and will take any opportunity to dance a salsa or bachata, or eat Cambodian food. 

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Eleonora Bianchi, a Swiss-Italian journalist, joined the New Bedford Light in 2022 to pursue investigative reporting on inequities and local issues through a multimedia lens.

A May 2022 graduate of the Journalism School at Berkeley, Eleonora previously worked for Swiss Radio and Television, and as an independent reporter at the 2019 G7 in Biarritz following the anti-summit protests.

Back in Europe, she graduated with a degree in human rights and international relations after working in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon to collect testimonies from civilians. Besides her love for traveling as a backpacker, she enjoys photography, and you can probably find her walking around New Bedford with a camera.

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Karen, an award-winning journalist with 40 years of experience in journalism and journalism education, is the executive editor of The New Bedford Light.

Her most recent newsroom experience was as senior vice president and executive editor of The Providence Journal, the first woman in The Journal’s now 195-year history to hold the top editor’s position. She is credited with shifting the newsroom into a “story-first” digital operation and introducing audience engagement initiatives to promote civil discourse on complex topics. Under her leadership, The Journal won numerous awards. The news organization was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Public Service in 2004 for the Forged by Fire series, which she co-edited.

Karen came to The Light from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. She has taught journalism for more than 28 years at institutions of higher education including Emerson College, Northeastern University, the University of Rhode Island and Bryant University.

She is past president of the New England First Amendment Coalition, the New England Associated Press News Executives Association and the New England Society of News Editors. She served twice as a Pulitzer Prize juror in 2015 and 2016. She was inducted into the Rhode Island Journalism Hall of Fame in 2023. In recent years, she was honored with the Yankee Quill — the highest individual journalism honor in New England — as well as the Judith Brown Spirit of Journalism Award, given annually to one woman who has made a significant impact on journalism in New England.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in political science summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island. She was a Sulzberger fellow at Columbia University in New York in 2011.

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Lean (pronounced Lee ANN) Camara has worked with mission-based organizations for 20 years, holding various leadership roles at nonprofit organizations where she launched multifaceted initiatives, directed senior executive planning and built consensus among diverse stakeholders. For 11 years, she also operated a community health center consulting firm providing start-up, compliance, and grant-writing services, which secured more than $76 million in funding for clients.  

Lean has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ithaca College and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania.  She is thrilled to be able to leverage both her journalism and nonprofit experience at The New Bedford Light. Lean moved back to the South Coast area, her birthplace, in 2010.  As a dual citizen with naturalized Portuguese citizenship status, she has deep roots to her Portuguese heritage.  

Lean has been an active volunteer (including serving as past chair of its Leadership Council) at the Women’s Fund Southcoast, which is a member of the Women’s Funding Network — the largest philanthropic network in the world devoted to women and girls. 

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Joanne joined the team at The New Bedford Light in November 2021 as The Light’s office manager and assistant to the publisher. Joanne is an experienced administrative assistant and comes with a multitude of skills. She worked at UMASS Dartmouth for 25 years in administrative roles involving budgets, personnel and clerk of all tasks. Joanne also has experience working in payroll and benefits, and most recently did case management work for the Office of Equal Opportunity for Bridgewater University.

Joanne was raised in Dartmouth, and her extended family has longtime business roots in the greater New Bedford community. She now lives in New Bedford.

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David says he was drawn to The New Bedford Light because of its commitment to quality and its mission to enlighten the community and hold those in it accountable.

“Public-service journalism is important, and The Light is a shot in the arm the South Coast needed,” he says. “I’m grateful it exists and proud to be part of it.”

David is a career journalist, having spent almost 30 years at The Standard-Times as a page designer and news, sports, multimedia, website and photo editor. He was lead editor and photo editor on the newspaper’s special section commemorating the return to New Bedford of the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship. He was also photo editor and layout editor for “A Nossa Vida: The Portuguese Experience in America,” a book published by The Standard-Times in 2006.

David, happily married to his wife Mary Joe, says he considers himself lucky to see the ocean every day and tries not to take it for granted.

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As the Arts and Culture editor at The Light, Toni dives into the vibrant happenings in the New Bedford area, ensuring readers stay up to date on upcoming events. Alongside this role, she works as a project manager for a sales execution company, expertly balancing her dual career.

A Fall River native, Toni began her journalism journey as an intern at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Her diverse background includes roles as a desktop publisher and presentation specialist, followed by six years as a custom media assistant at The Standard-Times. With a passion for versatility, she truly enjoys wearing many hats in her professional life.

Outside of work, Toni is dedicated to strength training and endurance activities, reflecting her commitment to personal wellness. She also has a deep appreciation for music and art, and cherishes her time spent with her son.

What does Toni love most about her work at The Light? “Building relationships with people in the arts and entertainment industries is incredibly rewarding,” she said. “New Bedford has an abundance of activities, and the art scene is thriving. I’m thrilled to contribute to this growth and truly appreciate the support we receive from the creative community.”

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Grace Ferguson reports on housing for the New Bedford Light. She graduated summa cum laude from Boston University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. While in college, she worked on investigations for WBUR and WGBH, Boston’s public radio stations. She also led a team of campus news reporters for WTBU, Boston University’s student radio station, throughout the pandemic.

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Colin joined The Light in June 2022, where he covers education, child care, city government and more.

Before The Light, Colin worked as a public school teacher in the Mississippi Delta and Brooklyn. Colin has a bachelor’s degree in English from Williams College, a master’s degree in education from Johns Hopkins University, and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Originally from New York, Colin now lives in New Bedford and enjoys bicycling along the waterfront.

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Brooke Kushwaha covers climate and the environment for The New Bedford Light. Prior to joining The Light, she covered education in underserved communities for the Houston Landing and Texas politics for Chron.com. She also worked as a general assignment reporter for the Vineyard Gazette and served as associate editor for its sister publication, Martha’s Vineyard Magazine, where she covered the environment, housing, immigration, and other topics. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue and The New York Times. 

Brooke graduated in 2020 from Wesleyan University, where she led the student newspaper The Wesleyan Argus. Although born and raised in Houston, Texas, she adapts to New England life by kayaking, hiking, and spending time at the beach.

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Anastasia joined The Light in October 2021, where she covers the fishing industry, offshore wind and police. Before coming to The Light, she wrote about city government, police, the fishing industry and the environment for The Standard-Times. She previously worked at The Patriot Ledger in Quincy.

Anastasia has a bachelor’s degree in history and anthropology from Stony Brook University and a master’s degree in journalism from Boston University, where she taught a writing course for a semester. Lennon is a 2021 fellow with New England First Amendment Coalition’s First Amendment Institute. She’ll always call Long Island, New York, home, but Massachusetts has become a wonderful second home.

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Maija McManus joined The New Bedford Light as a development associate in March 2025. She brings nearly a decade of experience in public relations, working with members of the media across business, trade and technology publications. 

For Maija, the power of local news is personal — her parents met while working at the same newspaper and instilled in her a deep respect for journalism from an early age. She’s thrilled to leverage her organizational and storytelling abilities to garner support for The Light’s mission.  

Maija graduated from Boston Latin School and holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Equity Studies from the University of Toronto. When she’s not working, you’ll find Maija walking on the beach, doing yoga, or enjoying the local seafood scene. 

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Isabelle Oss covers local politics for The Light as part of the Boston University State House Program. 

She is currently a culture writer and podcast editor for The Buzz Magazine, a student publication through BU. She also served as a script writer and camera operator for BUTV’s 2024 live election special. Isabelle has a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from Colorado State University, and is currently pursuing a master’s in journalism at BU. Although she’s a loyal Denverite, Isabelle has New England roots and loves calling Mass. her second home.

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Kellen is responsible for content production, website design and visual presentation at The Light. He also creates The Light’s graphics, illustrations and video assets. He’s worked as a print designer, night editor and web editor for five newspapers, including The Standard-Times of New Bedford, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Albany Times Union.

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Gerardo Beltran Salinas is a Chilean journalist who has worked as a reporter, editor and news producer for major media outlets in his country, including the national newspaper Las Últimas Noticias and the state television channel Televisión Nacional de Chile. He is currently living in New Bedford and producing stories and videos for The Light, chronicling the activities of Greater New Bedford’s Latino community. “I feel very committed to the tremendous effort and sacrifice made by immigrant families in this country,” he says.

NoticiasNB

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Jack Spillane is a career journalist, working primarily as a government and politics reporter and writer.

He has served as a beat and general assignment reporter, columnist, news editor and editorial page editor at community papers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire for 40 years, including at The Standard-Times of New Bedford, The Portsmouth Herald, The Marlboro Enterprise and Lincoln Journal.

Jack has been the recipient of first-place awards from New England press associations for investigative, enterprise, feature, and beat reporting, as well as columnist, editorial page writing and commentary.

He was the recipient of the 2019 Allen B. Rogers Award for his editorial on New Bedford immigrant children being separated from their parents at the border. 

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Erick edits investigations, in-depth projects and narrative features for the Light. A former staffer at Boston magazine, Cleveland Magazine and Experience Magazine, he has written about national politics and urban innovation for POLITICO Magazine and about U.S. history for Smithsonian and the Washington Post.

Before joining the Light, he got to know New Bedford while attending the (sadly defunct) New Bedford Folk Festival and reading in the annual Moby-Dick Marathon at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

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