Yesenia Torres

A Latinx woman with blond wavy hair is posing in front of a black backdrop. She is visible from the chest up and is wearing small, thick silver hooped earrings, a thin black necklace with a heart, a gold nameplate necklace with the name
Image Description: A Latinx woman with blond wavy hair is posing in front of a black backdrop. She is visible from the chest up and is wearing small, thick silver hooped earrings, a thin black necklace with a heart, a gold nameplate necklace with the name "Yessenia", and a light pink top with floral cutouts and white pearls.
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Yesenia Torres was born in New York to Colombian parents. At 21, she was in a car accident that left her with a spinal cord injury at the cervical C4-C5 incomplete, causing paralysis from the chest down. Despite her condition, she is a warrior of life who has known how to open up in the middle of her need to teach the world that the only limitations that can paralyze the human being are those of the mind and spirit.  

Her devotion for the last four years has been entirely to serve as a tireless activist for the rights of people with disabilities or reduced mobility in the city of N.Y. She currently participates in various organizations and activist groups from where she fights for her rights to be respected and not denied what corresponds to them as people and citizens. Her efforts are focused on achieving significant changes in state legislation and empowering those with some degree of disability. She maintains ongoing contact with political representatives so that they understand her community’s needs and organizes groups of people with disabilities to advocate for themselves in Albany. Yesenia Torres is also a mentor, motivational speaker, writer, model, and life coach. She lectures on disability etiquette and awareness of disability, highlighting civil rights laws that protect the community.  

Recognized with three awards: 

– Women Make Movies Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award for Achievement in Documentary 

– Best Documentary Director. Her documentary is called “Broken College” about inconveniences that she had to face in inaccessibility and how her condition caused discomfort to others. 

– The Colombian consul in New York, Susana Berenguer, awarded Yesenia the Certificate of Appreciation from the President of the Society of Foreign Consuls in New York, Consul General of the Republic of Bulgaria, Hon. Maya Hristova, for her outstanding achievements and her contribution to community empowerment.

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