A committed water quality and compliance professional, Gracie Torres joined Western’s Board of Directors in December 2018 and now serves as Vice President. She represents Division 2, which includes portions of the City of Riverside located southeast of the 91 Freeway and west of the 215 Freeway, portions of Lake Mathews, March Air Reserve Base, and Woodcrest.

Vice President Torres is a previous recipient of the Western - Lois B. Krieger Endowed Scholarship. She received the award while attending California State University San Bernardino. In 2019, Gracie was awarded an “IMPACT Award” by the Pick Group of Riverside for Civic Impact and recognized as “35 under 35” in 2020 by Young Elected Officials Network.

Gracie Torres is a longtime Riverside resident and a proud product of Riverside Unified School District schools as well as Riverside Community College. Her passion for water quality and environmental science developed when she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry and a Master's in Earth and Environmental Sciences from California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). She is currently working on a Doctorate in Public Administration at Cal Baptist University (CBU). Professionally, she is a water chemist and water quality compliance planner with Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and is an adjunct chemistry professor at CSUSB.

Director Torres serves on Western's Executive Ad Hoc Committee. She also sits on the board for Western's Engineering, Operations and Water Resources and Community and Government Affairs Committees. She also serves on the joint committees for the City of Riverside, Eastern and Rancho California Water Districts and the Riverside Advisory Council. In addition, Director Torres is Western’s representative for the March Joint Powers Authority Successor Agency Oversight Committee, the Chino Desalter Authority, the Association of California Water Agencies Joint Powers Insurance Authority and the Woodcrest Municipal Advisory Council. Director Torres is the District’s alternate representative for the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority and the Highgrove Municipal Advisory Council.

Gracie Torres and her husband live in Riverside with their three children. Her current term on the Western Board of Directors expires in December 2022.

59 - How Do You Build Power and Influence? with Dr. Cornel West

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