24 in 2024: Here's who the Journal thinks you should be watching next year
What will 2024 bring? Rhode Island has a lot to look forward to in the year ahead. The state's first major soccer team, Rhode Island FC, will play its first game. Attempting to boost test scores, the governor's Learn365RI program will launch, and, of course, with expanded beach access, the summer season promises to be a good one.
Nationally, an election will determine control of the White House, and Rhode Islanders will decide who will fill two House seats, as well as a Senate seat. Locally, we will continue to cover political scandals, intrigue and corruption.
Housing, aging infrastructure and social justice issues will probably continue to be themes for discussion and debate.
We asked members of The Providence Journal news staff to share short profiles of people they'll be watching in 2024. Most of them are not household names today, but we think they could be key players in the year ahead.
Peter Alviti Jr.
Age: 73
Hometown: Providence
Title: Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation
In the waning weeks of 2023, Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti found himself in an unenviable position as the face of the agency amid a transportation disaster that paralyzed the state. How RIDOT's director rallies in 2024 will be a key bellwether for the state's aging infrastructure.
24 to watch in 2024: RIDOT director Peter Alviti faces bridge repairs, possible RIPTA showdown
Taylor Begley
Age: 28
Hometown: Milford, Connecticut (now living in Warwick)
Position: Sports director, WPRI-TV and Fox Providence
Begley grew up watching football with her dad. Now she's coordinating TV sports coverage in Rhode Island, a job traditionally dominated by men.
24 to watch in 2024: For Taylor Begley, TV sports is 'not just a guy thing'
Julio Berroa
Age: 26
Hometown: Salcedo, Dominican Republic; now living in Providence
Position: Executive director/founder, Haus of Codec
His nonprofit Haus of Codec has plans to expand its housing assistance to vulnerable young people in Rhode Island's LGBTQ community.
24 to watch in 2024: Julio Berroa offers secure housing, and community, to LGBTQ youth
Sandra Cano
Age: 40
Hometown: Pawtucket
Position: State senator, Pawtucket commerce director
After an impressive primary showing in the CD1 race, she is now redoubling efforts to improve education in her state Senate reelection bid.
24 to watch in 2024: After a breakout year, what will 2024 bring for Sandra Cano?
Melissa Cotta
Name: Melissa Cotta
Position: Founder, RI Bridging the Gap
Hometown: Portsmouth
Could this be the year that placing suicide barriers on Rhode Island bridges moves forward? That's the hope for Melissa Cotta, founder of RI Bridging the Gap
24 to watch in 2024: Melissa Cotta, Bridging the Gap founder is pushing so hard for suicide barriers
Megan Cotter
Age: 39
Hometown: Providence
Position: Democratic state representative
Elected by a razor-thin margin in 2022, Cotter is a Democrat representing Hopkinton, Exeter and Richmond who is fighting for special education at the State House.
24 to watch in 2024: She was elected on a razor thin margin and is champion special education at State House
Dan Denvir
Age: 41
Hometown: Providence
Position: Reclaim RI cofounder and host of Jacobin's "The Dig" podcast
Dan Denvir and Reclaim RI helped to spotlight a landlord's dilapidated properties. Then the attorney general sued.
20 to watch in 2024: Dan Denvir helped to spotlight a landlord's dilapidated properties. Then the AG sued.
Conrad Ferla
Age: 42
Hometown: South Kingstown
Position: Creator, RI Coastal Access
His RI Coastal Access group helped win passage of a law spelling out where the public can legally use all beaches. More battles lie ahead in 2024.
24 to watch in 2024: Conrad Ferla helps protect shoreline access in Ocean State but his fight isn't over
Nick and Monica Gillespie
Ages: Nick, 36, and Monica, 39.
Hometown: Warwick Neck
Position: Owners of Dune Brothers in Providence
They make so-called "trash fish" delicious, with the bonus of supporting local fishermen and feeding the hungry.
24 to watch in 2024: Nick and Monica Gillespie promote seafood from 'pier to plate'
Jacob Lawson (JVKE)
Age: 22
Hometown: Cranston
Position: Singer
Hits like "Golden Hour," "Angel Pt. 1," and "This Is What Falling In Love Feels Like" have helped this Cranston native to stardom.
24 to watch in 2024: Cranston native Jacob Lawson, who goes by JVKE continues to disrupt the music industry
Aria Mia Loberti
Age: 29
Hometown: Johnston
Position: Actress
After the success of 'All the Light We Cannot See' Aria Mia Loberti preps for the release of 'The Spiderwick Chronicles.'
24 to watch in 2024: URI grad Aria Mia Loberti gets starring role on Netflix drama
Karen Lynch
Age: 59
Hometown: Ware, Massachusetts
Position: President and chief executive officer, CVS Health
As CEO, she led CVS, the Woonsocket-based company through the pandemic and is now diversifying its health care mission.
24 to watch in 2024: Karen Lynch is expanding the mission of CVS Health
Marta Martinez
Age: 66
Position: Oral historian and executive director of Rhode Island Latino Arts
Hometown: El Paso, Texas; now living in Warwick's Pawtuxet Village
She plays a key role in bringing together Latino artists, musicians, writers and actors, and making sure their work gets the attention it deserves.
24 to watch in 2024: Marta V. Martinez brings attention to Latino artists, musicians, actors and writers
Steve Napolillo
Hometown/lives now: Cranston/North Kingstown
Age: 44
Position: Vice President/Athletic Director, Providence College
He hired two new coaches for Providence Basketball last year. Success or failure in those roles will shape Napolillo’s early legacy.
24 to watch in 2024: Steve Napolillo is setting the tone for Providence Basketball. His legacy depends on it.
Sean O'Connor
Hometown: Tiverton; now living in Newport.
Position: Executive director, Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation & Fort Hamilton Trust
Sean O'Connor sees similarities in Newport Pride event and his work on the Rose Island Lighthouse, 'It's connecting people to unique places.'
24 to watch in 2024: Pride events or the Rose Island Lighthouse: Sean O'Conner provids a light in darkness
Oscar Perez
Age: 53
Hometown: Pawtucket
Position: Chief of Police, Providence Police Department
A new sheriff took control in early 2023. He's got big plans for the Providence Police in 2024.
24 to watch in 2024: Oscar Perez has big plans for the Providence Police headed into 2024
Gina Raimondo
Age: 52
Hometown: Smithfield
Position: U.S. Secretary of Commerce
But that doesn't mean the RI governor-turned-U.S. Commerce Secretary isn't worth watching. Here's why.
24 to watch in 2024: Raimondo will be on the short list of Washington Democratic kingmakers
Billy Thalheimer
From: Natick, Massachusetts
Hometown: Pawtuxet Village (Warwick)
Position: Founder/CEO, REGENT Craft
Seagliders have taken wing over Narragansett Bay. Are they the future of transportation?
24 to watch in 2024: He's inventing a ferry that can go 180 miles per hour. And he's doing it in RI.
Jed Thorp
Age: 46
Hometown: Cranston
Position: Rhode Island director, Clean Water Action
He’s probably best known for his work on legislation that has yet to win approval: a bottle bill to reform Rhode Island’s stuttering recycling system.
24 to watch in 2024: He's leader of the campaign against plastic pollution in Rhode Island
Xavier Truss
Age: 22
Hometown: West Warwick
Position: Offensive lineman, University of Georgia Bulldogs
The West Warwick native is the best offensive lineman the state has ever produced and after five seasons at Georgia, Xavier Truss may have a chance to show it at the highest level.
24 to watch in 2024: When will Xavier Truss, a star lineman head to the NFL?
Koke Vegas
Age: 28
Hometown: Antequera, Spain
Position: Goalkeeper, Rhode Island Football Club
There won’t be an athlete in or from Rhode Island with more pressure on them in 2024 than Koke Vegas.
24 to watch in 2024: Koke Vegas is the face of the state's new minor league soccer club, Rhode Island FC
Robert Walsh
Age: 62
Hometown: East Greenwich
Position: Chair, Always Learning Rhode Island
Bob Walsh, former head of the National Education Association Rhode Island, hasn't strayed far from the education world despite retirement. Now, he's currently chairing Always Learning Rhode Island, a nonprofit set up to aid Gov. Dan McKee's "Learn365RI" mission of year-round learning for the state's students.
24 to watch in 2024: Bob Walsh is helping to launch year-round learning for RI students
Nils Weldy
Age: 43
Hometown: Lives in Warwick, grew up in Barrington
Position: Director of the Rhode Island Brewers Guild
For Nils Weldy, bringing the local craft beer industry to the next level is a full-time job.
24 to watch in 2024: Nils Weldy is the man who knows what's on tap for craft brewers in RI
Don Winslow
Age: 70
Hometown: Wakefield
Position: Novelist, screenwriter and political activist
Don Winslow, the Rhode Island native described in literary circles as the "high priest of crime novels," is retiring from the book world to pursue another passion in the run-up to the 2024 elections: anti-MAGA politics.
24 to watch in 2024: Novelist Don Winslow shelves writing to focus on anti-MAGA politics
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 24 Rhode Islanders to watch in 2024 according to the Providence Journal
