Category: Latinos in RI

Clinical Faculty, Collaborative Partnerships for Preventative Mental Health Services

Jennifer grew up in Central Falls and Pawtucket while holding on to her family’s roots in Colombia. Every summer, and nearly every Christmas, growing up was spent in Don Matias, Antioquia.

In 2018, Jennifer became one of the co-founders of the Latino Mental Health Network of RI where they aim to recruit and retain aspiring and current Latinx mental health professionals. “Being Latinx has shaped my work immensely. My work focuses on providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services, decreasing mental health stigma in our community, and encouraging Latinx folks to enter the field of mental health; either as nurses, therapists, psychiatric nurse practitioners or psychiatrists.”

Today, she works at Thundermist Health Center where she provides mental health and telemental health to adults, children, and families. Jennifer also supervises, teaches, and mentors Social Work RIC students.

Associate Professor, Journalism

Paola Prado was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, nestled beneath the iconic statue of Christ that overlooks the city and the greenery of the rainforest. Born a year prior to the military coup that cracked down on freedom of expression and launched 21 years of dictatorship, Paola experienced the stark contrast between stunning natural beauty and extreme injustice. These experiences set her path towards a career in the news media and, later, in the academy.

With a fascinating upbringing surrounded by Brazil’s most talented artists and musicians, as well as journalists and media professionals, Paola came to the U.S. at the age of 18 to study film, at Denison University in Ohio and Sorbonne in Paris later to attend Georgetown University and join the press corps. 

Today, Paola is an Associate Professor of Journalism teaching Digital Journalism and Multimedia Productions and the Program Coordinator of Latin American and Latino Studies. In 2019 she was an editor for the newly published book “Climate Change, Media & Culture: Critical Issues in Global Environmental Communication.”