School Director, Area de Síndico 5 —

Roseann Torres joined the OUSD school board on January 7, 2013, and will serve a 4-year term. She was the product of public schools growing up and is a proud parent of a thriving Oakland public school student. Director Torres has been an attorney for the past 12 years. She currently runs her own law firm in downtown Oakland and this has afforded her the opportunity to mentor many youth interested in the legal profession, by providing internships and mock trial training for competitions.

Director Torres understands the multitude of challenges facing youth in Oakland today as she too had many struggles with adversity and disenfranchisement such that she dropped out of high school freshmen year. Fortunately, Director Torres gained timely exposure to a cadre of successful women from diverse backgrounds in professions and careers she had been unaware of. Through their guidance and mentorship, she was able to get back on track in high school, graduate on time and eventually enroll in community college. Because of this experience, Director Torres has dedicated her life to giving back to youth in the community that need similar guidance and she believes “if you can see it, you can be it.”

Director Torres will work to ensure all Oakland students receive the highest quality relevant education in K-12. One of her primary goals is reducing the dropout/pushout rate. As a proponent of the Restorative Justice work currently in OUSD, she hopes to enable all schools to utilize the amazing tools RJ offers since it is known to drastically reduce suspension rates among other things. She will also focus on improving the quality of STEM in the classroom through increased partnerships in the schools.

Director Torres has served on the following Boards: Measure Y Commission, Youth Movement Records (YMR); Centro Legal de La Raza; Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Alameda County (HCCAC), East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association (EBLRLA); National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC); and People United for a Better Life in Oakland (PUEBLO). 
Director Torres holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from San Francisco State University and a Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School in Albany, New York.