John Barros

John Barros is a lifelong resident of Roxbury-North Dorchester who was the first youth to run for the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, or DSNI, board of directors. At age 17, John ran as a Cape Verdean resident and started a more visible, active presence of youth across the organization.

John is a 1996 graduate of Dartmouth College and is a leader in the neighborhood college mentoring effort encouraging youth to apply to college. He was re-elected by the community to the DSNI board in June 1997 and was elected board vice president. Also, John was elected to the community land trust, Dudley Neighbors, Inc. as vice president. In 2000, John was hired as the executive director of DSNI after the departure of Greg Watson. In 2000 he received an ABCD Community Award.

John is a remarkable man who has grown up in a community-concerned family and he brings his talent, knowledge, and skills to work for his community.