Senator Art Torres (Retired), the Vice Chair of the CIRM Board, has had an amazing life. You can read about some of his accomplishments here, and he has received many honors. Last week he received one more. Art was given the Dolores Huerta Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the Latino Heritage Month Celebration.

This is no small honor. Dolores Huerta is one of the most influential labor and civil rights activists of the 20th century, so receiving this award is a testament to Art’s dedication and commitment to health care, education, the environment, and human rights over many years.

Fun fact. Dolores Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) with Cesar Chavez, which was instrumental in securing better working conditions and wages for farm workers. One of Art’s first jobs, as a young lawyer, was working with the UFW and Dolores Huerta was his boss.

The award ceremony was a family affair, with Joaquin Torres, Art’s son and the current Assessor-Recorder for San Francisco, serving as MC. Dolores Huerta sent a video greeting, and San Francisco Mayor London Breed presented him with a Certificate of Honor, praising Art for: “Your advocacy and passion to secure critical funding for stem cell research, support our immigrant communities, and uplift our Latino residents have made you a true cornerstone of our city.”