João Luis Morgado Pachedo - Day of Portugal and Portuguese

Grand Marshal of the 2016 Day of Portugal Parade
Comendador João Luís Morgado Pacheco
Conselheiro das Comunidades Portuguesas
Born in Ribeira Grande on the island of São Miguel in the Azores, João Pacheco immigrated to
the United States in 1963 settling in Newport, Rhode Island where he attended Rogers High
School. He recalls that his first day of school in the United States was cut short by the news
that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas.
He graduated in Business Management, was employed as a manager in the E. Rosen
Company for thirty-two years and was owner and manager of housing for the elderly for twelve
years. He is presently employed as a real estate agent licensed in both Rhode Island and
Massachusetts.
For many years, João Pacheco has been an energetic advocate for the Portuguese-American
community in his hometown of East Providence, the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts
and abroad. He was first elected to the position of Conselheiro das Comunidades Portuguesas
in 1997 and has been re-elected since in 2002, 2008 and recently in 2015. He has been the
backbone of many organizations including Casa dos Açores da Nova Inglaterra (President,
1996 to 2000, 2006 to 2009), Day of Portugal and Portuguese Heritage in RI (President, 2006),
Conselho Mundial das Casas dos Açores (President, 2006), the Convívio dos Naturais do
Conselho da Ribeira Grande na Nova Inglaterra (Founding Member) and Associação dos
Emigrantes Açorianos (President, 2011 to 2015).
His leadership and enthusiasm is appreciated by the many boards on which he serves:
Portuguese-American Scholarship Foundation, Community Advisory Board of the Institute for
Portuguese and Lusophone World Studies at Rhode Island College, and the Board of Directors
of the Day of Portugal and Portuguese Heritage in RI.
Moreover, Pacheco has been consistently supportive of Portuguese immigrants seeking United
States citizenship assisting with the completion of application forms and accompanying
numerous hopeful candidates to citizenship interviews.
João Pacheco has been deservedly recognized for his efforts: Homenagem Mérito Municipal by
the city of Ribeira Grande (2006), Imigrante do Ano: Promoção dos dez mais conhecidos do
Correio dos Açores (2006), Prémio (Launch of the IPLWS at RIC, 2006), decorated with the
Insígnia Autonómica de Reconhecimento, Governo Regional dos Açores (2011), Honorary
Member of PHI LAMBDA BETA Portuguese Honor Society, Rhode Island College (2013),
Condecoração Ordem de Mérito, Comendador by the President of the Republic of Portugal
(2014), named among Portugueses de valor no Mundo by LUSOPRESS (2015) and
recognized with the PALCUS Leadership Award in Community Service (2015).