Mandi Torrez’s first work with children was while volunteering at an ESL after-school program in a low-income housing community while in college. It was her first look at the achievement gap, and it continued to motivate her classroom practices throughout a 10-year teaching career in the classroom.

Nine of Torrez’s years were spent in New Mexico classrooms with Bernalillo Public Schools. In 2019, while a third grade teacher at Placitas Elementary, she was named the Bernalillo Public Schools Teacher of the Year. In 2020, she was named the New Mexico Teacher of the Year, in part because of her commitment to culturally and linguistically responsive teaching. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado in Journalism and a master’s degree from Boston’s Wheelock College in Integrated Elementary and Special Education.

Torrez currently serves as the Teacher Liaison for the New Mexico Public Education Department.