by Monsurat Ottun

Brandie Ard, DDS is one of the few, young black female dentists in Rhode Island. Though not originally from the Ocean State, Dr. Ard has recently poured her heart and soul into work at Blackstone Valley Community Health Care (BVCHC) Dental Clinic, servicing the underserved families in the Pawtucket and Central Falls areas.

Dr. Ard describes working at BVCHC Dental Clinic as giving her a sense of pride. Beyond being able to serve the patients that the clinic caters to, Dr. Ard has met other dentists through her co-workers, and has become a part of the Rhode Island Dental Association. As part of maintaining an active license, Dr. Ard also continues to get continuing education credit.   

by Raymonde M. Charles

Many in the medical field and larger Rhode Island community believe that Barbara Morse Silva, as health reporter for NBC 10, is also a registered nurse. Several years ago, Silva was to give a speech at a local hospital and was introduced as "Barbara Morse, RN." Taking it all in stride, Silva joked that the "RN" in this case stood for "respected news person."

Silva has been a journalist for about 30 years and is a three-time Emmy Award nominee. She started her career in journalism as an intern on radio then on television, and has worked as a reporter in Hawaii, Arizona, Illinois and Massachusetts. She came to Rhode Island from WISH-TV in Indianapolis, where prior to becoming a reporter, she was an on-air intern at the station. It was "back when they let interns on the air," she recalls.

by Reza Corinne Clifton

Hearing Lourdes Pichardo talk about her family is a lot like receiving a geography lesson on the Dominican Republic. First, Pichardo was born in Santiago – the second largest city in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean nation. The first largest city is the capital, Santo Domingo, where Pichardo spent some of her childhood. She lived for nine years in Tamboril, which is where her father is originally from, and her mother is from a city called Licey, where she also lived for 8 months.