Above, Desiree Decoo, the state Department of Public Health’s director of the Women and Family Services. Courtesy photo
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The 3rd annual Cape Verdean Association of Boston’s (CVAB) 40 Under 40 event has fast become one of the key events for young people of Cape Verdean heritage to build networks and be recognized. This year, the event is returning to Dorchester at Venezia Function Hall this Thursday (Nov. 12).
Another 40 young professionals have been added to the noteworthy group this year, making 120 recognized overall. There is even a waiting list for nominees, said CVAB Executive Director Paulo DeBarros.
“We are trying to promote the efforts of so many young people doing great things in our community,” he said, noting that many are tapped to serve as role models for CVAB’s teen program.
“A lot of young people now are getting into law enforcement, but we want young people to also see other pathways and professions,” he added. “They can see all of these professionals and they are good role models for kids growing up. It gives them other people in other professions as role models beyond the usual suspects in politics and civic engagement.
“It is becoming a key, signature event for Cape Verdean young people in Boston, and their families are happy and proud of them being honored in a community setting,” he noted.
Two noteworthy recipients this year are Desiree Decoo, who turned a rocky stretch in her teen-age years into a successful career in social work, and Frankie Barros, who put his college football experience and communications degree to work as an entertainment promoter and events planner.
Decoo, 38, owns HOPE mental health practice and is the state Department of Public Health’s director of the Women and Family Services Department. But at 16 and growing up in the Bowdoin Street area as half Cape Verdean and half Puerto Rican, success seemed out of reach for the daughter of David and Marcelina Barbosa Rivera.
“I needed to do community service for Juvenile Court when I was 16 and I went to the community center on Bird Street to do my 1,000 hours,” she recalled. “I met Paulo (DeBarros) there and he and his staff took me under their wings, and I worked at the front desk. Without that opportunity I might have gone a different direction. The trajectory of my career really started there at the front desk of the Bird Street Community Center.”
Now, 19 years later, she is being honored by the community where she once had to perform community service – a “full circle moment,” she said. After attending the former St. Kevin’s School and going to Natick High School within the METCO program, she graduated from Newbury College with a degree in psychology and Eastern Nazarene College with a master’s degree.
Decoo’s first job was at Catholic Charities, then she moved to Uphams Health, and the St. Mary’s Center’s Phoenix House – ironically the old St. Mary’s Hospital where she was born. Through it all, the experience of Juvenile Court resonated with her, and she sought to help others struggling in the same way.
“I was 16 and had so much going on personally at the time and didn’t know how to handle it,” she said, noting that it all stemmed from a fight in front of the school police officer at Natick High. “The easiest way for me to handle it was through anger.”
Now she tries to steer others away from those same feelings through family and marriage therapy.
“I am particularly honored because I may not be 100 percent Cape Verdean, but I definitely feel fully Cape Verdean,” she said. “When I grew up I was a bit torn in that I didn’t always know if people saw me as part of the culture in the way that I felt I was. This honor hits home because it came from home.”
Frankio Barros, 29, grew up in the Bowdoin Street area with his mother, Adelcia Barros, and attended Edward Everett School and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester before moving to Newton in the 7th grade. He graduated from Newton South High School and excelled in all sports but got attention from college scouts for football.
Frankie Barros, left, at one of his promoted events with one of the artists he booked at an event in Rhode Island. Courtesy photo
But a knee injury his junior year derailed him from getting the full attention of big scouts, and he ended up going to Ithaca College and playing football while pursuing a business administration degree. Then injury struck again in his junior year, and the football cleats were hung up.
“It was a long-time shoulder injury, and I just couldn’t keep banging up my body,” he said. “I switched my major to integrated marketing communications, which is three majors in one – sales, marketing, and business communications. That’s actually what I do now, and I’ve been gradually getting better and growing my business.”
He had been someone who “brought people together” starting as teen-ager, and in college, Barros started throwing and sponsoring parties, something he continued afterward as a young adult, giving up a career in banking with Citizens Bank five years ago to pursue his business full time.
That choice has grown into a lucrative endeavor in Rhode Island and Boston, and now he has booked his first artist for a Boston venue – rap artist Trippy Red at Studio B in Big Nite Live on Nov. 19. He said it’s a big break to accompany his weekly Friday night events in Rhode Island.
“I’m okay with the spot because once we sell that spot out, they’ll have confidence to trust me to book the big room at Big Nite Live and with bigger artists,” he said. “It’s all part of the business. No one can pull you up. You have to make these connections and be ready to act on them.”
He said, “breaking the seal” on venues in Boston is a big deal and it’s “a really good feeling.”
The keynote speaker for the 40 Under 40 event will be Dr. Jeffrey Lopes, a Boston Police sergeant detective and president of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers (MAMLEO). Key supporters include state Sen. Nick Collins, state Rep. Chris Worrell, and the Cabo Verde consulate office in Boston.
CVAB Executive Paulo DeBarros.
The complete list of recipients includes Adalgisa Ramos (Age Strong Commission Program Coordinator), Aicha Tavares (Brandeis University Senior Degree Audit Specialist), Alberto Monteiro (BPS Math Teacher), Andrea Lopes Nogueira (Education Family Liaison), Andreina Ferreira (BPS director of CTE Programs), Brandon Teixeira (CEO Mental Health Declassified), Breyner De Pina (Catholic Charities Teen Center), Carlene Tavares (student counselor TRIO Upward Bound, UMass Boston), Carlos Robalo (Youth Outreach), Cedric Cavaco (Police Officer).
Also, Cindy Rosa (Realtor), Edwin Centeio (Police Patrolman), Erica Correia (BPS paraprofessional), Fabio Depina (US Army Infantryman), Felicia Miranda Teixeira (teacher/paraprofessional), Francisco Silveira (Northeastern Security), Ivandro Carvalho (Artist), Jossara ‘Jo’ Dias (STEAM Education sr. coordinator), Joao Paulo Monteiro (finance), Joseph Goncalves (AgeStrong Commission volunteer program director), Kelby Carvalho (Boston firefighter).
Also, Jianna Fonseca (social services advocate), Laurene DaRosa (non-profit donor relations manager), Luis Monteiro (financial data analyst), Manny Barbosa (Local 103 journeyman electrician), Maria Xavier (special education teacher), Maurice Depina (automotive importer and exporter) Natasha A. Fortes, Ph.D. (school-based site lead, The Possible Zone/adjunct professor, UMass Boston), Nivaldo Lima (transportation entrepreneur), Paulo Tavares (DHL Express driver).
And, Ray Allen III (film director and producer and fellow for state Sen. Liz Miranda), Rute Pires (relationship banker), Samantha DeAndrade (Urogynecologist), Samantha Vicente (BPS Hub Schools coordinator), Shania Rodrigues (computer science student), Taliya Dasilva Depina (BPS coach, business owner), Tamila Barbosa Fernandes (Bridge Boston Charter School assistant principal), and Tinho Pereira (Boston firefighter).
Copyright © 2026 Boston Neighborhood News, Inc. This content may not be re-published or re-used without written permission.
