E. Diane Torres-Velasquez is a New Mexico State Representative for District 30, elected in 2024. A UNM Associate Professor in special education, she served as New Mexico's Hispanic Education Liaison and authored the inaugural Status of Hispanic Education report. She received the MALDEF Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 for her role in the Martinez and Yazzie v. New Mexico lawsuits for equitable education.
ED
Serving
E. Diane Torres-Velasquez
State HouseDemocrat
NM-HD-30 State House
About
Family & Heritage
Hispanic, grew up in Albuquerque. Was part of the first class to attend a desegregated Wilson Junior High. Affiliated Faculty with Chicana and Chicano Studies at UNM, with strong Chicano/Mexican-American identity.
Political Career
Before Politics
Associate Professor of Secondary Education/Special Education at UNM (career spanning decades); NM Hispanic Education Liaison (2010), authoring the inaugural Status of Hispanic Education report; President of the Latino Education Task Force; facilitated poetry workshops for incarcerated women
Education
Ph.D. in Bilingual Special Education and Teaching, University of New Mexico, 1988
Key Issues & Priorities
Public education equity and reform, bilingual and multicultural education, Latino/Latina education, crime and public safety, water security, fair housing, prison literacy for women