Biography
José “Pichy” Torres Zamora was born on June 7, 1971, in the town of Jayuya, where he was raised alongside his parents, Monsita Zamora González and Ernesto Torres Torres, and his two siblings.
The father of Joseluis Ernesto and Felipe Antonio, he completed his studies under the public education system. He graduated with honors from Josefina León Zayas High School. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez with the distinction of Cum Laude. Subsequently, at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Master’s degree in Environmental Management and Engineering Management. Currently, he is completing a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Puerto Rico.
For 15 years, he worked in the private sector managing areas such as Environmental Engineering, Health, and Safety, among others. For years, he was a leader at Baxter in Jayuya, which, under his leadership, was awarded several times with the Best Environmental Program Award by Baxter Global and the Best Environmental Program Awards from the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association.
His performance as a Plant Engineer and, simultaneously, as an Environmental Health and Safety Auditor in Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, and Memphis was recognized several times by Baxter Corporate.
Torres Zamora demonstrated leadership from a young age. In 1991, he was vice president of the PNP Youth in Jayuya, and later, in 2001, he served as president of the New Progressive Party also in his hometown of Jayuya. For four years, from 2005 to 2008, he served as a Municipal Assembly Member.
In 2010, he was sworn in as a representative after filling the vacancy left by former legislator Iris Miriam Ruiz, thus presiding over the Health Commission. Two years later, he was appointed by then-Governor and PNP President Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset as the Secretary General of the party.
The Jayuya native was elected in the 2016 general elections as a representative at-large and received the sixth highest number of votes. Following his victory, his fellow PNP representatives elected Pichy Torres Zamora as the new Vice President of the House of Representatives.