Roland Joseph Torres
Biography
Kea‘au, Hawai‘i • Summer
2008
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Roland Joseph Torres is an independent media
professional with
more than fifteen years experience covering multiple facets of
broadcast television
production, strategic marketing and multimedia. He is the founder and
executive director of the Pacific Media & Learning
Trust, Inc., a Hawai’i Non-Profit Corporation
engaged in the production of broadcast television and web-based
projects, as
well as hands-on training coursework targeting Native Hawaiian and
other Hawai’i
Island populations historically under-represented in the multimedia
marketplace.
Torres is the creator and producer of the popular
series “Kama’āina Backroads,”™ the premiere travelogue
offering viewers a “local” perspective on “Holoholo,
Island
Traditions, and Roads Less-Traveled.” Broadcast throughout
Hawai‘i on Time Warner's OC-16,
and throughout Nevada on COX-96,
Kama‘āina Backroads™ currently reaches a combined mix of more than 1
million households via television, and literally billions of people via
complimentary, live telecasts on the web.
A seasoned producer, videographer and certified editor, Torres has
worked
throughout the country on a wealth of broadcast television and business
video
works, including:
SOUTHWEST CURRENTS - KFOX-TV
CINEMA SECRETS - AMC Television
LIVELYHOOD – PBS National
MYSTERIOUS WORLDS – TLC Television Network
Additionally, Torres is co-producer of the documentary project "Living
Pono" by Emmy-Award winning filmmaker Rick
Bacigalupi. The film focuses on life choices made by actor Jason Scott Lee -- "An internationally acclaimed film and
stage actor leaves the glamor of stardom behind on an intentional
journey toward simpler, more righteous living."
In May 2008, Torres was contracted by the Hawai’i Island HIV/AIDS
Foundation,
with funding from the Tony Cox Foundation, to produce the very first
set of
community awareness PSAs produced in both the English and Hawaiian
languages. Shot on locations in Kaua‘i, Maui, O‘ahu and Hawai'i
Island,
the
English
version of the spots has been nominated for a national award from
the cable
industry, a 2008 “Positively Outstanding Programming” (POP)
Award. The
award was created “to honor cable television’s
invaluable
contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS.” Past honorees
include
CNN’s “Where Have All The Parents Gone?”, MTV’s “Fight for Her Rights”,
Showtime’s “Three Needles”, and HBO’s “Angels In America”.
In 1996, Torres' work on a "Get The Vote Out" series targeting Hispanic
Youth
(for the Univision Network) was honored with an Emmy.
Torres is a longtime supporter of human and civil rights organizations,
and has
produced numerous PSA's supporting the work of HIV and AIDS service
organizations. Additionally, he has managed national press
coverage for
the League Of United Latin American Citizens ("LULAC," the nation's
largest
Hispanic civil rights organizations) where he worked with Vice
President Al
Gore, HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, Attorney General Janet Reno, and
INS
Secretary Doris Meisner.
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Torres attended Makaha Elementary School,
Wai'anae Intermediate School (where he was the first student in the
school's history to win a state-wide speech tournament), Wai‘anae High
School and Leilehua High School. Torres attended Bethany College
in Santa Cruz, California and numerous nationally-recognized industry
certification programs.
Mr. Torres, whose extended family has called Hawai'i Island home for 6
generations, resides on the Puna district of Hawai‘i Island with his
Golden
Retriever/Border Collie named Puna Boy.
