Rafael Torres, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Resolution Management

Rafael A. Torres was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Resolution Management on June 25, 2006. As Deputy Assistant Secretary he is in charge of the discrimination complaint counseling and investigation processes and alternative dispute resolution for VA.

Prior to his nomination, Mr. Torres spent 29 years with the Social Security Administration (SSA) in a variety of different roles. Mr. Torres has over 15 years of experience in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) arena. As Human Resources Director in Social Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, he was a key player in the development of the agency’s discrimination complaint processing and alternative dispute resolution programs. Mr. Torres also served as SSA’s Deputy Director and Acting Director of Strategic Management, where he was in charge of all performance and strategic planning under the Government Performance and Results Act. Most recently he served as the Special Counsel to the Associate Commissioner for Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity at SSA.

Mr. Torres has extensive experience both in government and in the private sector in the area of mediation and related alternative dispute resolution methods. As a member of the Baltimore Federal Executive Board’s mediation counsel, he routinely performs mediations and conducts training for other federal agencies. Mr. Torres also has a background in project management, quality assurance and organizational assessment techniques.

Mr. Torres grew up in New York City. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law and a member of the Maryland Bar. He received his undergraduate degree in biology and education from the City University of New York.