Assistant City Manager Alma Reyes presented the City Manager Leadership Award for the month of June to Management Aide Ivis Torres.

“For Ivis, public service is more than a profession” Reyes said. “It is an opportunity to give back to the community that helped shape who she is today. Through her compassion, creativity, and unwavering commitment to service, she continues to make a meaningful impact on the community she is proud to call home. It is an honor to present this award to her.”

Torres joined the City in 2019, as part of the then newly established City Council Aide team or as we know it now, the Constituent Services Team in the City Manager’s Office.

As a member of the inaugural team, she supported the Mayor and City Council in their efforts to increase responsiveness to resident concerns and to have a pulse on the community’s needs.

When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in 2020, Torres became an integral member of the City Manager’s Office response efforts due to her background working in the medical industry.

She played a key role in communicating critical public health information to residents while helping City staff understand and address evolving community needs.

In 2021, Torres was promoted to a full-time Management Aide, continuing her work as a liaison to the Mayor and City Council. In this role, she coordinates responses to constituent concerns, facilitates Council requests, and works closely with departments to ensure residents receive timely and effective service.

Her multilingual efforts contributed to successful public engagement initiatives for major City projects and community improvements, including Ketchum-Libolt Park, Shalimar Park, and various housing initiatives.

In 2023, as Costa Mesa experienced an unprecedented number of evictions, Torres played an important role by providing housing navigation services and helping affected families connect with temporary housing resources.

Through her direct engagement with residents, she gained firsthand insight into the challenges facing tenants and relayed community concerns and feedback to City leadership. Her work helped inform the City’s response to the housing crisis and contributed to the development and eventual adoption of the City’s Tenant Protection Ordinance.

Recently, Torres assumed expanded responsibilities supporting the Mayor and City Council. In addition to her constituent services responsibilities, she is supporting the Council in an executive assistant capacity.

Torres has an associate’s degree in liberal arts from Orange Coast College and is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree at Southern New Hampshire University.