West Bronx resident brings change to the borough
BY JASON COHEN
Dayanna Torres dreamed
of being an anchor on Univision.
While she is not on TV,
she has been impacting the
Bronx for more than a decade
and recently helped launch
the JARC (Jerome Avenue Revitalization
Collaborative).
However, life has not always
been easy for the Bronxite.
Torres, 36, was raised by a
single mom in Morris Heights
and Mt. Hope and they struggled
to get by.
Her mother, a native of the
Dominican Republic, worked
hard in Bronx factories earning
minimum wage doing
manual heavy machinery labor.
“Growing up in the Bronx
in the 90s was a very tough
time,” she told the Bronx
Times.
They lived in a Section 8
apartment in Mt. hope in an
area surrounded by crime,
drugs, homelessness and violence.
Her mom didn’t know English
and wasn’t treated well.
Torres would serve as a translator
when it came to any
type of legal document. But,
through all of this she was in
a loving home.
“We ultimately had nothing,
but I never felt like I was
lacking anything,” she recalled.
“She made so many
sacrifi ces with very little resources.”
However, Torres was always
focused on school. She
did so well she went from a
bilingual class to a gifted and
talented class.
“I was really motivated
and I didn’t feel there was
anything that could stop me,”
Torres said.
There is one incident in
Mt. Hope she will never forget.
As a teen she was chased
by an undercover cop into her
own apartment who thought
she had drugs on her. The offi
cer made her empty her entire
bag and quickly saw there
was no contraband.
Needless to say this was
traumatizing. They fi led a
complaint with the police and
were never issued an apology.
“That was the main reason
we moved to Morris Heights,”
she explained.
Torres continued her love
for education at Syracuse University.
There she obtained
degrees in communications
Dayanna Torres Courtesy of Dayanna Torres
and information technology
and dual masters in international
BRONX TIMES R 24 EPORTER, APRIL 2-8, 2021 BTR
and public relations.
Since graduating college
she has made her mark on
the community. Torres has
worked at city agencies such
as NYCHA, NYCEDC and
CUNY developing partnerships
to advance economic opportunities
for fi rst generation
college students, public
housing and low/moderate
income New Yorkers/small
business.
She serves on the board
of directors at Women Creating
Change and Proud to Be
Latina and formerly served
as chair of the Youth Services
Committee of Community
Board 5 and a Student Sponsors
Partners program mentor.
Previously, she formed
part of the inaugural partnerships
department at the New
York City Economic Development
Corporation (NYCEDC),
where she led projects aimed
at spurring inclusive economic
development and talent
pipeline solutions for the
City’s high growth industry
investments, city assets undergoing
Land Use Review
Procedure (ULURP) and company
expansions.
“I decided to use my experience
and really represent
organizations who want to
do positive social work,” she
stated. “My experience led
me to realize that I was able
to navigate opportunities and
resources that many families
and friends may not have access
to.”
Torres, who is an independent
consultant focused on
projects in the areas of inclusive
and equitable economic
development, credits a lot of
her success to her mom.
“My passion and values
were instilled in me by my
mother who sacrifi ced everything
for me and always
worked very hard and
with very little resources protected
and raised me to be focused,
hard working, of service
to the community and
with the confi dence that anything
I set my mind to I can
achieve,” Torres said.
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