Fernanda Torres
This month we profile Fernanda Torres of the San Diego Coastal Rotary Club. Fernanda is the President nominee for the San Diego Coastal club. In the meantime, she is the club’s Peace Chair.
Fernanda lives in Tijuana and has not been able to come across the border because of the pandemic. Hopefully, that will change in the next few months when she can join her club members as they begin to meet in person.
Fernanda has been very helpful to me - and us - this Rotary year. Back in July, Fernanda put me in touch with District Governor Guillermo Nava of District 4100 (Baja California, Baja Sur, Sonora and Sinoloa). We developed a relationship and brought in our Governor lines to establish an ongoing relationship between our two Districts.
Fernanda translates for us and has been instrumental in solidifying the connection between the two Districts.
With that as a back drop, let’s learn more about Fernanda. As they say - by the way, who are “they?” Does anybody know who “they” are? This has bothered me for a long time. I digress, but for a good reason. As, “they” say, here’s the rest of the story.
Fernanda was born in Tijuana. Her father, Carlos Torres, a retired architect, is a member of the Tijuana Rotary club. Her grandfather was a Rotarian. Carlos was particular about improving the lot of the youth.Madre Emma Garcia is an accounting assistant and property manager. She collects the rents and fills the vacancies.
Fernanda is the oldest of five sisters.
Anna lives in Gardena, California and is a mental health social worker.
Carolita, the oldest twin by a minute, lives in Chula Vista. She certifies trainings for first responders.
Francis, the youngest twin, lives in Clovis, California, which borders Fresno in San Joaquin Valley. Chris Colfer who played Kurt Hummel on Glee hails from Clovis; as does 2020 US Open golf champion Bryson DeChameau. That’s all you need to know about Clovis. Other than Francis.
Baby sister Paulina is a teacher living in Culver City, California. Father Carlos says he exports his children. Seems so.
Fernanda would go to Rotary meetings each week with her father while she was in school. That was her indoctrination.
At seventeen-years old, Fernanda participated in a Rotary Youth Exchange program in Gaziantep, Turkey. During this year abroad, she lived with three different families. Besides being fluent in Spanish and English, Fernanda is more that proficient in Turkish. This trip to Turkey allowed her to make a difference in the lives of others.
Fernanda then studied law in college at Tijuana Iberoamericana University. She chose law because it provided the opportunity to fight for the people. By practicing in the area of immigration law, she is able to achieve this goal. She has practiced law since 2001.
From there, Fernanda went on to earn a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Business at the University of Madrid, Spain. She wasn’t done. She also earned an Master of Laws in Immigration Law at the University of Madrid, Spain.
Putting all this education to good use, Fernanda is the CEO of CT International Consulting and CEO and Founder of Delegations for Peace Foundation. She provides consulting service in corporate and immigration law for new and small businesses. She also writes up contracts, trademarks and translates for these businesses. If things not go according to plan, she offers mediation services.
Besides her professional accomplishments, Fernanda’s heart and soul lies with Rotary and nonprofit organizations with an emphasis on youth. For nine years she was the Executive Administrator and Trainer of the Youth Exchange Program in District 4100.
She presently serves on the Boys and Girls Club Board of Advisors.
Fernanda’s big project this year was to plan, organize and present the Binational Project Fair for District 4100. Many Rotarians from our District attended as well as many other Rotarians from around the globe. At its peak, there was close to 300 participants. District Governor Guillermo Nava awarded Fernanda a Paul Harris pin for her efforts. Well deserved for sure.
For the past eight years Fernanda has been the advisor for high school teams from Tijuana in the District’s Model United Nations conference. In so doing, she has made a huge impact on these students as well as bringing a true international flavor to the conference.
And, of course, she has served as an advisor for the high school students attending a RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) program. She has been a keynote speaker at RYLA.
As if this was not enough, Fernanda is a tireless worker for the environment. She is a serious member of the Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group (ESRAG). She is involved in our District’s Environmental Sustainability Committee to boot.
We don’t want to leave the impression that Fernanda is all work and no play. She loves to travel. She has been to several RI conventions and ties the trips into sight seeing tours of the countries and bordering countries where the convention takes place.
To Fernanda, Rotary is a way of life. Living the Rotarian ideals and ethics is what drives her passion to help young people and those underserved.
We can’t thank Fernanda enough for all the good she does for her Rotary club, Districts 5340 and 4100 and the world. Please get to know this remarkable woman and Rotarian.