Maria Torres has dedicated her life to the service of migrants, specializing in the psycho-social condition of migrants. Born and raised in Guatemala, she graduated with a bachelors degree in psychology from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala before continuing her graduate studies at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. She continued her education in the University of Texas at El Paso, graduating with PhD in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences.

Since then, she has worked serving migrants at shelters and detention centers all across El Paso, both on a volunteer basis and as an employee of JRS, providing psychiatric help for those moving through the immigration system.