BronxWorks, a large social service organization dedicated to uplifting Bronx communities that serves more than 60,000 Bronx residents annually, announced that longtime Executive Director Eileen Torres has been named chief executive officer.
The new title reflects the organization’s tremendous growth under Torres’ leadership, as well as the management structure to support, grow and maintain such an upward and successful trajectory.
Torres serves as the ultimate advocate for the 60,000+ Bronx residents that benefit from the array of services BronxWorks provides across more than 50 locations around the borough with approximately 1,000 employees serving the community.
Torres has been with BronxWorks since 1995, starting in administrative roles, then as admin counsel and general counsel, and interim executive director/COO in 2013. Torres was appointed executive director in 2014. Her education and background as an attorney have been invaluable in guiding BronxWorks to the highest standards of nonprofit governance and as an implementing partner for many New York City government programs.
Torres has built upon the history of the organization and expanded the scope, reach and impact of services to the Bronx community. Under her direction, BronxWorks has added multiple new sites and formed many new public and private partnerships. In the past year alone, BronxWorks has received significant outside recognition for its services, including a $5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund to help Bronx families experiencing homelessness as a result of domestic violence find safe shelter, housing, stability and workforce opportunities.
In October, BronxWorks — with project partners Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York and Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Health System — also received a five-year, $5 million grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to study ways to address the underlying social determinants within Bronx communities that impact health outcomes.
“For more than 50 years, BronxWorks has delivered critical services to the communities of the Bronx, including its most vulnerable populations,” said Roger Begelman, chair of the BronxWorks Board of Directors. “This announcement is a recognition of the growth and importance of the entire organization, and of course, Eileen’s leadership over the past 10 years. It is also a statement of how invested BronxWorks is in continuing our vital work to better the lives of those we serve.”
Torres will continue to work closely with the BronxWorks executive team and the board of directors to steer the organization toward its vision of lifting lives and building futures in the Bronx.
Torres is a Bronx native and a graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School. Torres earned a B.S. from Pace University and a J.D. from the Northeastern University School of Law. She is on the board of United Neighborhood Houses (UNH) and serves as the chair of the UNH Executive Directors Council; she is also on the board of the Human Services Council (HSC), the Council Of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA), and Lyft’s New York Racial Justice Alliance.
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