This winter, the National Hispanic Council on Aging wishes to highlight another excellent example of Latino Empowerment. As we hunker down through the cold of a new year, the NHCOA is committed to inspiring future action and continued progress for Latino communities.
This week, we shine the spotlight on Congressman Ritchie Torres, the recipient of NHCOA’s 2025 Outstanding Public Policy Award. Mr. Torres bears the weight of systemic injustice on his shoulders as he continues to advocate for change in his position representing New York’s fifteenth district in the House of Representatives. New York’s fifteenth district is home to storied Manhattan neighborhood, the Bronx. Born in 1988, Congressman Torres was raised in the Bronx by a single mother, working minimum-wage jobs to support him and his brother and sister. Congressman Torres understands firsthand what it means to be disregarded and left to face insurmountable barriers and overwhelming injustice.
Despite the hand he was delt, and because of the perspective it brought him, Ritchie Torres became the youngest elected official in New York in 2013, at the age of 25. The first openly LGBTQ+ elected official to serve in the Bronx as well, Mr. Torres wasted no time in turning his vigor and ambition towards the betterment of his community. As a city councilman, Mr. Torres spent seven years confronting the issues that mounted against his community, with notable impact being made in addressing affordable housing and the city’s opioid epidemic. It was during this time, and with the position of Chairman overseeing the New York City Housing Authority, that Mr. Torres would hold the first ever committee hearing devoted to public housing, which resulted in a FEMA investment of $3 billion, the largest that New York City has seen.
In 2020, Ritchie Torres was elected to the U.S. House. Representatives as the first openly gay Afro-Latino member of Congress, successfully managing to secure another position where he can fight for the betterment of the community that he has known all his life. In his position, Congressman Torres continues to champion affordable housing, social justice, and equal opportunity. He serves on both the House Committee on Financial Services, and on the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. He is also one of nine co-chairs of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.
Additionally in his service as representative of New York’s fifteenth district, Congressman Torres has introduced such key legislations as The Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act, an impressive step forward in ensuring consumer safety in light of a staggering amount of accidental fires due to lithium-ion batteries, The Contracting Accountability and Transparency (CAT) Act, aimed at improving transparency of public housing agency contracts, and The Stopping Another Non-Truthful Office Seeker (SANTOS) Act, which would help to stop cases of fraud in candidate filings.
The National Hispanic Council on Aging is thrilled to have Congressman Torres as the recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Public Policy Award, and we are proud to recognize his impressive example of Latino empowerment.
Congratulations, Congressman Ritchie! It is our pleasure to watch your advocacy and impact grow as an excellent example of legislation can achieve.
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