Dominique Gregoire was born in France in a small village in the center of the country in 1948. 

Dominique Gregoire was born in France in a small village in the center of the country in 1948.  As a child, Dominique enjoyed the time he spent vacationing on the farms in the countryside in Brittany.  Some of Dominique’s best years were in Paris as a college student at Sciences Po and the Paris Faculty of Law where he enjoyed the culture that surrounded him. After finishing his studies in 1970, Dominique went to work as the Chief of Staff in Normandy where he helped develop the city center.

Soon after, Dominique met Donna, a woman from Providence, Rhode Island, and married her. After starting a family in France, it was decided that Dominique, Donna and their two daughters, Julia and Claudia, would make the journey to the United States where there were better job opportunities.

Upon arriving to Rhode Island in 1986, Dominique and his family stayed with his in-laws for a few months until they could sell their homes in France. Staying with family made the transition very smooth, and for the most part Dominique felt welcomed.

“There were some times that I was confronted with people that did not accept me.  That was somewhat of a challenge.”

Dominique gained employment relatively quickly in Rhode Island.  His first job was working for a modular home company that transported homes to people and set up the houses at the foundation.  Dominique then worked for the Governor’s Office and later for the City of Providence.

Dominique is now retired from mortgage business and has been working on a project he calls the “Jewel of New England” which includes a place for pedestrians to walk freely, with tons of cafes around the downtown Providence area. He also has ideas that would increase transportation so that more people would visit downtown.  Currently, Dominique is considering finding another job position in the non-profit sector, possibly in the education field.

Dominique believes that Rhode Island can be a great state if the people come together towards a common goal.

“The state of Rhode Island is beautiful.  The coastline, the towns, and Newport.  People are easy-going.  There are a lot of people who have done a lot for the state and we ought to give them credit. 

When thinking about the future Rhode Island Dominique wants for his children, he imagines “a place where they will have good professional opportunities and a place where they will be able to contribute to the community.  A place where they will be able to raise their children, comfortably.  And a place where it is fun to live is very important.  An urban environment that is fun to be around where you have cultural opportunities and festivals.”

For the last 15 years, Dominique has been the president of the French Alliance of Providence, which offers language classes, lectures and concerts at their headquarters on Smith Street.  The French Alliance allows Dominique to stay connected to his home country and language when he isn’t traveling to France.

A large part of Dominique’s life is his two daughters, Julia and Claudia.  He has taught them certain values so that they have grown up to be the women they are today.

“You have to be ambitious, have goals, and be educated.  We insisted on education with our children and they’ve gotten a good education, but also the values of family, love, affection and taking care of each other. That’s what we tried to do and so far it has been working.

Although Dominique enjoys living in the United States, he is concerned about inequality, gun violence, and the amount of people who are incarcerated. He believes that the United States has a lot of potential to fix these problems, but it will take time and effort.

“To a certain extent, I really love this country and I think it has enormous potential.  We have people with imagination and creativity and we have the best colleges.  People create things every day.  But we still have a long way to regain the soul of this country.”

Written and compiled by Jacqueline Shepard and Jake Scearbo