Cheryl Torrez, chair of the department of teacher education, educational leadership and policy in the College of Education & Human Sciences at the University of New Mexico has just been named president-elect of the Association for Teacher Educators. Dr. Torrez, who has been a member of the association for 20 years, will first transition to first vice president of the organization through 2024. After serving a year as president, she will spend an additional year serving on the executive board as past president. Dr. Torrez will be responsible for a plethora of responsibilities including leading two national conferences, while also working with editors to develop and publish a new Handbook of Research on Teacher Education.
The Association of Teacher Educators was founded in 1920 and is the only national, individual membership organization devoted solely to the improvement of teacher education for both school and campus-based teacher educators. Today ATE members represent nearly 1,300 teacher educators in colleges, universities, school districts, and state education agencies within 41 regional and state-affiliated units and U.S. territories.
“One of my professional passions has been to advocate for and support K-12 educators across the professional life span, from teacher candidate to veteran teacher to ensure that all educators can meet the ongoing needs of our students and society,” Dr. Torrez said.
In stating her goals, Dr. Torrez added that “social justice and equity are moral endeavors that allow us to contribute to a more just and equitable society for all. Ideally, we can collectively eradicate unequal opportunities for learning that exist. We can see classrooms and schools become spaces in which students develop agency, academic capacities, and moral/ethical commitments to shape their place in the world.”
Dr. Torrez is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. She completed a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley. She earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from California State University, Sacramento, and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Virginia.