www.negociosnow.com
50 March 2020
Age: 34
Title: Communication Director/
Producer
Name of Organization:
The Miracle Center
Vanessa Torres began early
on at the non-profit organiza-
tion, The Miracle Center, that
utilizes the performing arts as a
catalyst for personal growth, lea-
dership development, academic
advancement and community
engagement for children, youth
and families in the Logan Squa-
re/Hermosa neighborhoods.
As an alumna of the The Mira-
cle Center (TMC),Torres persona-
lly experienced the direct impact
it can have on the lives of young
people. Well before TMC though,
she developed a love of the perfor-
ming arts that began when her pa-
rents signed her up for dance clas-
ses at the age of 4. While the choice
was made in part to give their
daughter an outlet for her high
energy, her parents unknowingly
gave her a treasure map that led
her to discover her passion.
In addition to her early love
for dancing, her participation
in TMC programming starting
at the age of 10 broadened her
views and gave her opportuni-
ties to perform in music theater
and TV. Her desire to use the
arts as a tool for changing lives
based on her own background
inspired her to learn and apply
frameworks for cross-cultural
engagement through the arts.
A graduate of the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(UIUC) in 2007 with a Bachelors
in Political Science, the 1st-gene-
ration Puerto Rican brings exten-
sive experience in the performing
arts and public relations industry.
Her passion comes from TMC,
which inspired and empowered
her to pursue an internship at the
Center for Portuguese Langua-
ge and Brazilian Cultural Studies
through her study abroad pro-
gram with UIUC in Salvador, Bra-
zil.Her experience also extends to
program management and media
relations through employment
with leading advertising agency
FCB Global, where she served as
a social media strategist and com-
munity manager. She serves as a
"Power House Millennial" Theater
Producer, where she oversees all
aspects mounting a theatre pro-
duction. managerial functions,
helping with financial backing,
and hiring personnel for the crea-
tive production team.
WORDS OF WISDOM:
"Y
ou have to leave the city of
your comfort and go into the
wilderness of your intuition. What
you'll discover will be wonderful.
What you'll discover is yourself."
Alan Alda
Vanessa Torres
A Miracle
Maker
