Mayor Wu last week appointed Chantal Lima Barbosa, a Dorchester resident, to the city’s School Committee. She replaces Lorena Lopera, who resigned to join the school improvement nonprofit EdVestors as its vice president for advancement and external relations.
Lima Barbosa will serve out the reminder of her predecessor’s term, which ends on Jan. 1, 2024.
She becomes the first Cabo Verdean woman to serve on the seven-member committee. (John Barros, who also lives in Dorchester and was appointed by Mayor Thomas Menino, was the first Cabo Verdean man.)
Cabo Verdean Creole is spoken by “seven percent of BPS families at home and is the third most common home language for BPS families after English and Spanish,” according to the mayor’s office.
Said Wu in a statement: “Chantal is a dedicated public servant whose education background, experience as a BPS alum from an immigrant family, and love for BPS communities will benefit all BPS families, educators, and staff.”
The daughter of immigrants, Lima Barbosa was born in Boston and raised in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde. She returned to Boston in 2010, where she graduated as valedictorian at Jeremiah Burke High School in 2012. She earned degrees in political science, and in higher education and administration, from UMass Amherst.
In February 2020, Mayor Marty Walsh appointed her as the liaison to Dorchester and Cabo Verdean communities in the Office of Neighborhood Services. She was later promoted to City Council liaison within the mayor’s office of intergovernmental relations.
Lima Barbosa currently works for Duet, a higher education coaching nonprofit, as one of the organization’s directors of recruitment.
“I still remember my first day at the Burke as if it was yesterday and I’m humbled to now be sitting at such a critical table amplifying the experiences and voices of so many students, advocates, and families just like mine,” she said in a statement. “This is a huge responsibility that I do not take lightly. I am so excited to play a role in shaping the development and success of young people in the City of Boston.”
The school committee, which meets twice a month during the school year, is made up of mayoral appointees and chaired by Jeri Robinson, a Dorchester resident.
