Admitted to Practice in New Jersey
Education
Juris Doctor (1982)
Rutgers University College of Law
Newark, NJ
Bachelor of Arts
Herbert H. Lehman College
Bronx, NY
Rolando Torres, Jr. served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Personnel from November 2004 to May of 2008. Initially appointed by Acting Governor Richard J. Codey, he was reappointed to another term by Governor Jon Corzine in January 2006.
Former Commissioner Rolando Torres, an attorney, brings some 20 years of experience in the public sector, and a track record of creative leadership and successful management of important issues. Additionally, he maintains a special expertise in consensus building and reconciling diverse interests in public and corporate settings. His commitment to excellence and results was demonstrated in the following assignments:
Special Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Human Services, Commissioner Torres was responsible for overseeing the Department’s legal, legislative, and regulatory matters, including the Child Welfare Reform Plan.
Governor’s Office, Deputy Chief of Management and Operations under Governor James E. McGreevey.
Special Deputy Commissioner in the Department of Banking and Insurance. During his tenure at Banking and Insurance, he was instrumental in helping to reform New Jersey’s failing auto insurance marketplace by serving as the Senior Facilitator for the auto insurance working group process, and in bringing New Jersey’s first entrant into the reformed insurance marketplace.
1999 to 2002, He served as Vice President and Corporate Counsel for Prudential Financial Services in Newark. While at Prudential, he implemented the company’s “Roads to Resolution” program, a national employee dispute resolution program, and handled several class action matters through the Alternative Dispute Resolution Process as a member of the Employment Section of the company’s legal department.
1995 to 1999, Rolando Torres was appointed by Governor Christine Whitman as Director of the Division on Civil Rights for the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, where he was credited with implementing management reforms to reduce the agency’s significant case backlog. He also was the Assistant Director of enforcement at the Department of Law and Public Safety, where he supervised statewide investigations in employment, housing and public accommodations discrimination.
During his distinguished career, Rolando Torres has also served as the Special Assistant to the Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate. He also served as Assistant Deputy Public Defender with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, where he was a criminal defense attorney for the Hudson region. Commissioner Rolando Torres also served as a law assistant for the Criminal Court of the State of New York.
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