Jesus E. Torres

Email: jtorres@cbecal.org

Jesus E. Torres was born on May 27, 1972 in Mexico City, Mexico. Jesus and his family moved to the United States in 1978 and now live in Wilmington, California.  Jesus graduated from Los Angeles Harbor College in 1995 where he received an AA degree in Liberal Arts.  He then transferred to California State Polytechnic University at Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) where he studied Urban and Regional Planning in the School of Environmental Design.

While at Cal Poly Pomona, Jesus Torres was the recipient of various awards and scholarships including the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund in 1995 and 1996. He was also a recipient of the first annual Hilda Solis Scholarship Award in 1997 and of the Presidents Future Scholars Scholarship in 1998.

Jesus has been employed at Communities for a Better Environment for 6 years where he is a Community Organizer and has worked in the local communities of Santa Fe Springs, Pico Rivera, and El Monte. In 2003, Jesus was successful in defeating televangelist Pat Robertson’s efforts in restarting a refinery in a low income minority community. Currently, he is organizing in the community of Wilmington where there are many air quality concerns due to 4 major oil refineries, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and numerous other toxic petrochemical facilities. Jesus has also worked in solidarity with communities in South Africa and Alaska.