This year’s second installment of the Cape Verdean 40 under 40 awards highlights another group of promising young people in the city and the region who have found great success in athletics, academia, health care, and community development.
Sponsored by the Cape Verdean Association of Boston (CVAB) under the direction of Paulo Debarros, the gala event tonight (July 2) in the Seaport coincides with the 50th anniversary celebration of Cape Verdean Independence from Portugal on July 5 and is part of a wealth of activities throughout the month honoring the diaspora.
One of the ’40 Under 40’ honorees is Sidney Baptista, 37, who was born and raised and still lives on Draper Street in Dorchester, now raising his own family there and shaking his head at the journey he has taken that is centered on running.
Baptista is the founder of the well-known Pioneer Running Crew, one of the first city-based Black running clubs in Boston, and something that propelled him to a career in running apparel where his brand, Pynrs Performance Streetwear, has become a major success and is sold in stores nationwide.
“Pioneers was the first Black-led running community,” he said. “A lot of what I’ve done in my life all starts from seeing other opportunities in other communities and asking, why can’t we also have this?…I would go running and I would have to leave Dorchester to run on the Charles River or in the Back Bay. I was driving three miles to run three miles. So, I decided to run here.”

Sidney Baptista (right) with the Celtics Jaylen Brown during an event for his company, Pynrs Performance Streetwear. Baptista is one of this year's Cape Verdean '40 Under 40.'

That was in 2017 when he founded the Pioneers, but the lead up to that is quite compelling in it’s own right. After growing up in Dorchester and attending boarding school in western Massachusetts, Baptista graduated from UMass-Amherst with an accounting degree. He enjoyed a career at Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) for a while, but a successful music event on Wendover Street lit a spark in him to start promoting festivals. He eventually quit his job and took a chance organizing a large festival in the Seaport called ‘Sea by Sound.’ Unfortunately, a municipal corruption scandal at that time in Boston resulted in a city tourism official “squashing” Baptista’s festival at the behest of the larger music event. All that was detailed in court and court filings many years ago, but the fallout left Baptista without a festival, without a job, and depressed. In the middle of that in 2014, he saw a Black man downtown running happily for exercise – and while annoyed by it, at the same time something clicked.
He began running too, and it helped him through those difficult days – and led him to Pioneers, then later to Pynrs apparel. In addition, he learned a lot about why such running groups didn’t exist. For instance, Black runners historically have been funneled to sprints while white runners were directed to distance runs. Likewise, community safety issues and poorly maintained sidewalk infrastructure have also played a part.
Now, he hopes that other young men might look out the window and see Black men running in the neighborhood with the Pioneers and not think it’s “weird.” And perhaps they too might go for a run.
Similarly, awardee Deu Almeida was pursuing a career in public health when she came across Black and immigrant maternal health statistics – and was shocked to see how different the outcomes were compared to white women and other groups. It caused her to reverse course, and now she is the founder and executive director of Doulas of the Diaspora that offers doula services and, more importantly, doula training. Doulas are another set of eyes and support during the birthing process, defined officially as a woman, typically without formal obstetric training, employed to provide guidance and support to a pregnant woman during labor.
“We are a group doula practice that specifically serves MassHealth members,” she said. “I’m a doula trainer and I’ve trained more than 100 doulas since 2024.”
Almeida, 30, grew up in Dorchester and attended Boston Public Schools, then went on to Berklee College of Music and studied music education and music therapy. Moving to Atlanta she started her own music school and taught music, and learned being outside of New England required an extra explanation of her heritage.
“They had no idea there, none, but the population of Cape Verdeans there is growing,” she laughed.

Deu Almeida, 30, started her own doula provider and training company after learning of the shocking maternal health statistics for Black women and immigrant women. She is another of the '40 Under 40' honorees.

It was in Atlanta where she decided to pursue a Master of Public Health, and also where she saw the stats on maternal health and decided to start her company, later moving back to Boston. She said the advent of doulas, and now specialized providers for immigrant communities like Cape Verdeans has made an impact.
“We definitely see the differences,” she said. “We have a way to go, but for me, success now is people learning they have the right to have a doula with them.”
As an offshoot to the business, Almeida said they will be launching Day Space in Uphams Corner at the Pierce Building. The business offers a co-working space for parents with playgroups and other amenities for children.
Baptista said he is honored to share the stage with so many young leaders in the community, noting it’s nice to see the positives about Cape Verdeans amplified.
“It shows how we are the fabric of the city and leading and putting on for the culture,” he said. “It’s awesome to honor the good work done by Cape Verdeans because for many years in the city we were associated with street violence and known as people who fight with each other. It definitely helps our image as there are so many Cape Verdeans in the region.”
The annual 40 under 40 gala takes place at the Westin Boston Hotel in the Seaport. The full list of awardees includes: Lex Andre Daluz, Samuel Tavares, Daija Carvalho, Malik Gomes, Tanisha Martins DeLeon, Raquel Semedo, Alex Rosa, Dr. Serena Cardoso, Satero Daveiga, Julia Lotin, Jose A Correia, Lorreta Rocha, Manuel Gomes, Bruno Monteiro, Sweila Cardoso, Carina Spinola, Hena Lopes, Jessica L. Almeida, Eliseu Depina, Danielson Andrade Jr., Carla Gomes, Nadine DePina, Vanessa Correia, Alex Figueiredo, Nancy DePina, Naldo Gominho Cardoso, Tania DeBarros, Alcindo Fontes, Ronaldo Monteiro, Daisy Correia, Jonathan A. Resende-Barros, Tome Barros, Vanessa Silva, Stanley Jesus Pina, Carlos Silveira, Luisa Pina, Mavrick Afonso, and Zuleica Rosario.