With support from others, Goncalves graduated from Roger Williams University and Boston University Law School and became a successful litigator. An attorney at Miller & Caine, LLP in Providence, she was previously a partner at Adler Pollock & Sheehan, P.C., and a former associate judge of the Providence Housing Court.

Goncalves’ greatest successes did not always come in the courtroom. She said that some of her proudest accomplishments include watching a young woman she mentored develop into a confident individual.

Goncalves is a member of the Thurgood Marshall Law Society and Rhode Island Bar Foundation.  She was a member of the Rhode Island Supreme Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness, the Permanent Advisory Committee on Women and Minorities in the Court. She is also involved in several community organizations: Goncalves is a member and current president of the Greater Providence (RI) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.

Passionate about her roots, Goncalves is active in the Cape Verdean community in Rhode Island. She looks forward to owning a home in her native country and contributing to its development.