Thursday, October 22, 2026

College Consultant and Harvard Alumni Leader Cynthia Torres Brings Educational and Financial Experience to PUSD Board Race

Torres, who chaired a financial oversight committee for the Santa Monica-Malibu school district, is running to represent District 7 on the PUSD Board

Cynthia Torres has spent two decades helping teenagers get into college. Now she wants a seat at the table that shapes the schools they attend first, where she says student opportunities and the resources needed to sustain them must be considered together.

Torres, the founder of a Pasadena-based college admissions consulting firm and a former president of the Harvard Alumni Association, is running for the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education in District 7. The seat is being vacated by Board Vice President Dr. Yarma Velázquez, who an is vacating the seat, announcing that she would not seek re-election.

The November 3 general election will be decided by plurality, meaning the candidate with the most votes wins regardless of whether that total exceeds 50 percent.

District 7 covers parts of western Pasadena, including the neighborhoods around the Rose Bowl and Madison Heights. Torres said the district includes four schools in her area.

Torres is the president and founder of College Decisions LLC, an independent educational consulting firm she established in 2010. The firm, based in Pasadena, is accredited by the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating. Torres holds a certification as an Educational Planner from the American Institute of Certified Educational Planners and is a member of several professional organizations, including the Independent Educational Consultants Association and the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

Before entering the education field, Torres spent over 25 years in financial services, including positions at Goldman Sachs in New York, Fidelity Investments in Hong Kong, and First Interstate Bank of California in Los Angeles, according to her professional profile. She also served as chair of the Financial Oversight Committee at the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, gaining what she described as a decade of experience reviewing that district’s budget, spending, revenue strategies, enrollment projections, and annual audits.

Separately, Torres said she served on a PUSD bond committee from 2018 to 2019, a period when the district also refinanced its bond portfolio.

“I am excited about the possibility of having a voice precisely at this moment,” Torres said in an interview. “I think this is a wonderful time for me to attempt to have a voice in trying to get at some complex issues concerning school district finances, the direction of the district, elevating student achievement, supporting our wonderful superintendent, and really crafting a path forward.”

Torres said she would focus on rigorous academic preparation, including the importance of calculus and advanced coursework, while also acknowledging that college is not the right path for every student. She pointed to the district’s 91 percent graduation rate — above the statewide average of roughly 87.5 percent, according to state data — as evidence the district educates students well. She says PUSD should also emphasize students’ access to challenging coursework, college guidance, financial aid information, and pathways that prepare them for their next steps after high school.

For Torres, expanding student opportunity is closely tied to the district’s ability to sustain and grow the resources available to students. She says students need both a clear educational pathway and the funding to support it.

If elected, Torres said her first priority would be revenue generation. As chair of the Revenue Generation group within the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s Financial Oversight Committee, Cynthia researched strategies to help school districts expand their financial resources. At PUSD, she wants to explore approaches such as strategic fundraising, corporate and philanthropic partnerships, sponsorships, asset management opportunities, and deeper partnerships with the Cities of Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre. She says her goal is to bring additional resources into the district while protecting its long-term financial health and its ability to sustain programs for students.

Torres praised the district’s recent refinancing of outstanding Measure TT general obligation bonds, a transaction the district announced in late July saved taxpayers $10.4 million in total debt service.

“Every year in school districts is complex,” Torres said. “I know from my long involvement with school districts that every year is hard and you have to grapple with serious issues. I think because of my long experience, I have confidence that we will navigate this successfully.”

The race unfolds against a backdrop of significant challenges for the district. The January 2025 Eaton Fire damaged or destroyed multiple PUSD campuses, displaced thousands of students, and forced the district into an extended recovery process. PUSD also faces a multimillion-dollar structural deficit that has led to layoffs and budget cuts.

Torres, a 1980 graduate of Harvard College and a 1984 graduate of Harvard Business School, served as president of the Harvard Alumni Association in 2014-2015, leading its approximately 400-member board and traveling internationally on behalf of the university. She was the keynote speaker at Harvard’s First-Generation Commencement in 2015, according to the Harvard Gazette.

Torres, who said she grew up in a lower-income household in urban Los Angeles with a father who was a Mexican-American migrant farm worker, completed a certificate in college counseling with distinction from UCLA. She has spent her career helping students like the one she once was find their way into classrooms she said transformed her life.

For more, visit https://www.torres4pusd.com/