Ricardo D. Torres joined the National Student Clearinghouse as its CEO and president in 2008. The Clearinghouse, a nonprofit organization founded in 1993, is the nation’s most trusted source for enrollment and degree verification. Its members include more than 3,300 U.S. colleges and universities.
Prior to joining the Clearinghouse, Mr. Torres had a long and distinguished career in the private sector, both in the U.S. and abroad, including serving as COO at BestPractices, a nationally recognized provider of emergency medicine and physician practice management, and Capital One (a financial services company). Mr. Torres has also held management positions in leading organizations such as PepsiCo and Philip Morris/Kraft Foods (now known as Altria Group). His diverse background includes financial and strategic planning, marketing and sales, general management, and executive leadership.
Mr. Torres is a board member the John Tyler Community College Foundation and the Advisory Board of Cohesive Knowledge Solutions (a knowledge management company). In 2013, The Washington Business Journal named him the Minority Business Leader of the Year.
Education
M.B.A. (International Finance) | Georgetown University
B.A. (Marketing; Management) | Manhattan College
How has education changed your life/your family?
Education became empowering when I chose to own my education pathway. The opportunities that a solid education plan can provide are not always obvious to learners and parents and in my case, I cannot possibly overstate the influence of my high school guidance counselor in enabling me to understand the potential. The thirst for knowledge, intellectual curiosity, and a spirit of enabling leveraging of collective wisdom (all began through my education experience) have been keys to success. As the CEO of the Clearinghouse my passion now is to give back and enable other learners with desire and passion to find their path forward with trusted enablers at the ready to help them.