Republican for U.S. Congress | Virgina's 8th Congressional District
Jerry Torres
Jerry grew up in a military family during which his father was reassigned to several US Air Force bases from New York to Washington state, Florida, and three locations in between. He worked throughout his elementary, junior high, and high school years to supplement his family's income, working as a construction laborer and framer, garbageman, dishwasher, and newspaper delivery boy, and bucked hay bales on ranches and dug worms to sell to fishermen.
His father, Juan Manuel Torres, born in Puerto Rico, was a combat veteran who served in the US Army in Korea and the US Air Force in Vietnam and earned the Purple Heart. After retiring from military service, he served as a US Marshal and later earned a PhD in Biblical Studies, eventually becoming an ordained minister. Juan passed away on May 7, 2020, and is interred in Arlington National Cemetery with military honors.
Jerry's mother, Diana, was raised on a farm in West Kansas and attended a one-room schoolhouse. She was a working mother who raised Jerry and his brothers while working a dizzying array of jobs, including serving as one of America's first US Marshal Matrons. Diana, 92 years young, continues to inspire her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren with her industrious farm-girl spirit.
At age 18, Jerry enlisted as a Private in the US Army and, for the next 30 years, served his country in the US Army, Army Reserves, and Army National Guard on five continents, ultimately retiring at the rank of Master Sergeant.
Upon returning to the United States from the US Army after his last combat assignment, Jerry built an Information Technology and application development company. Within two years, Jerry's company, Torres Advanced Enterprise Solutions (Torres AES), won multiple technology, linguist, subject matter expert, security, cyber security, and training contacts with the US and NATO governments and Fortune 500 firms in locations across the globe. Over the next eight years, he grew his company to over 8,600 employees on five continents, generating nearly $1 billion in total revenue.
Jerry is a prolific philanthropist who has developed humanitarian, environmental, and wildlife programs both in the US and around the world. He is also an active volunteer and donor to causes serving the needs of US armed forces veterans, as well as veterans of federal, state, and local law enforcement. He also supports vulnerable communities in the greater Washington DC area, particularly those local to his Northern Virginia home.