Torres Small, Xochitl, 1984-

TORRES SMALL, Xochitl, a Representative from New Mexico; born in Portland, Multnomah County, Oreg., November 15, 1984; graduated from Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa, Eswatini (then Swaziland), 2003; B.S.F.S., Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., 2007; J.D., University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N. Mex., 2015; lawyer, private practice; law clerk, federal district court of N. Mex., 2015-2016; staff, Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, 2009-2012; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress (January 3, 2019-January 3, 2021); unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress in 2020.

<p>Xochitl Liana Torres Small (first name pronounced /ˈsoʊtʃiːl/ SOH-cheel; born November 15, 1984) is an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. Representative for New Mexico's 2nd congressional district from 2019 to 2021 and is the nominee for Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development at the United States Department of Agriculture. The district is the nation's largest by area that does not comprise an entire state, covering New Mexico's southern half, including Roswell, Carlsbad, Las Cruces, and southern Albuquerque. Torres Small is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2020, Republican Yvette Herrell defeated her in a rematch of the 2018 congressional race.</p>

<p>Xochitl Liana Torres was born on November 15, 1984, in Portland, Oregon, to Marcos and Cynthia "Cynta" Torres. Her parents were educators, Marcos with child care providers, parents and fathers, Cynta as a public school special education teacher. Marcos also worked as a social worker in child protective services and as a union leader. Torres Small was raised in Las Cruces, New Mexico.</p>

<p>After graduating from Mayfield High School in absentia while she earned her International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma from Waterford Kamhlaba United World College in Mbabane, Eswatini, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law.</p>