JENNIFER TORRES – Literacy Hero Award – 2015 recipient
Each and every day, ordinary people do extraordinary things to promote literacy in our communities. With these awards, we celebrate the selfless acts of regional heroes who champion the cause of literacy in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
Jennifer Torres is an author, community leader, and literacy advocate who has actively influenced the development of programs for education and youth in San Joaquin County. Originally from Southern California, Jennifer has lived in Stockton for the past 10 years with her husband, David, and daughters, Alice and Soledad.
She currently works at University of the Pacific, where she coordinates the Beyond Our Gates initiative, working alongside community partners to improve early literacy across our region. She serves as a board member in numerous community organizations, including: El Concilio Council for the Spanish Speaking (a Stockton-based organization that provides a range of social services to individuals throughout the San Joaquin Valley); San Joaquin A+ (a nonprofit organization that supports and enhances education by promoting collaboration among education, nonprofit, and business organizations); and the YMCA of San Joaquin County (a nonprofit organization that provides developmental, enrichment, and recreational opportunities to children).
Before joining Pacific, Jennifer worked as a reporter for The Record newspaper, covering education, diversity, children and families. During her tenure, she launched, organized, and managed the High School Journalism Awards, the newspaper’s annual contest honoring the work of outstanding high school journalists.
She continues to lead workshops for journalism students on feature writing, source development, and other key topics.
She has been honored for education and youth reporting by the California Newspaper Publishers Association, and she received the Action on Behalf of Children Award from the Family Resource and Referral Center in recognition for media coverage benefiting children in San Joaquin County.
Torres is the author of “Finding the Music,” a bilingual picture book, inspired in part by the San Joaquin County community and published this spring by Lee & Low Books. Her middle-grade novel, “Stef Soto, Taco Queen,” is due out from Little, Brown in winter 2016.
