Bios of the Newport Middle Passage Port Marker Project
Martha Crane Anderson is a retired regular and special education teacher and diagnostician. She served in several settings and communities, predominantly in Newport. Josephine Brown, community advocate, is a retired community leader having served in many organizations. Barnes is an Episcopal priest with a PhD in art history. Laura Clarke is a
Licensed Mental Health Counselor serving Newport middle school aged youth. Peter Fay is a public historian from Jamestown who has been active in civil rights and educational campaigns for the past four decades. Elizabeth Foulke is a Rogers alum and the co-editor of the Ocean State Review. She is currently working towards her PhD in English at the University of Rhode Island. Clinton Gardiner is a native Rhode Islander, retired attorney, and descendant of African Americans who resided in colonial Newport. Ernest Gibbons was the first executive Person of Color in national retailing (at Filene's department store in 1956), and was first Vice President of the largest AARP Newport Chapter (Chapter 207) in Rhode Island for six years. Cynthia Hamilton, PhD, is a retired Professor Emeritus, an academic, and author with MS who is still an activist after years of community organizing. Victoria Johnson, a native Newporter, was the first African American female principal of a High School in the Rhode Island, at Rogers High in Newport. Deborah Jones, born in Newport, is a certified occupational health nurse for the Department of Defense, and seeks understanding, productive, and ethical solutions for all patients and acquaintances. Benedict Leca is a specialist in 18th century art and culture, has an MA and PhD in art history, and is the Executive Director of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Lima worked for government facilities in the Newport area in IT, serving as the first EEO Officer for the Naval Hospital and ended her 36-year government career as Security Specialist for the Naval Underseas Warfare Center. Carole Peterson is a native of Newport. She taught Spanish at Bloomfield High School in Connecticut for seventeen years, spending the summers in Spanish-speaking areas such as Malaga, Spain, Costa Rica, Mexico City, Mexico, and volunteering in the Hispanic community in Hartford, Connecticut. Patricia Pettit is a marketing and communications specialist and Chief Communications Officer at the Redwood Library & Athenaeum. Pope, CPA, is a specialist in taxation, working for personal and tax-exempt organizations. Earl N. Smith II is Assistant Dean of Student Academic Services in the College of Arts of Sciences at the University of Rhode Island, an Africana Studies professor, and co-director of URI Cabo Verde Study Abroad program. Ruth S. Taylor is a career non-profit administrator and consultant and is Executive Director of the Newport Historical Society. Eileen Westgate is a 4th generation Newporter, retired teacher, and avid fan of Newport history. James Winters is a retired Newport police officer and is President of the Newport NAACP, an advocate for the Homeless, and serves as the Executive Director of Newport Housing Hotline.
