Ivonne Torres

Ivonne was born in Guayaquil in 1964, daughter of an English teacher and a lawyer. One enriching experience that she had as a teenager was working as a volunteer in the juvenile section of the International Red Cross during the terrible “El Niño” event of 1982.

Ivonne was born in Guayaquil to an English teacher and a lawyer. One enriching experience that she had as a teenager was working as a volunteer in the juvenile section of the International Red Cross during the terrible “El Niño” event of 1982. She is happy to have had the opportunity to live in the United States as an exchange student during two different opportunities, being able to see a little more of the world, learning about other cultures and coping with new situations.

During her studies in tourism and hotel management in Guayaquil, she worked in various areas including teaching, working as a bilingual secretary and also as a receptionist in a five star hotel. Her love for nature brought her to Galápagos upon graduating, where she completed the naturalist guide’s course run by the Galápagos National Park in 1989. Guiding has given her the opportunity to meet interesting people as well as enjoy diving, snorkeling, hiking and all the other activities that have allowed her to admire evolution of the islands and its organisms. 

She has had the opportunity to contribute to conservation by working for four years at the Charles Darwin Research Station as a coordinator for the local tourism sector and has also contributed to the development of tourism in the community for a year as the Director of the City Tourism Bureau in Puerto Ayora, where she resides. Currently, she is acting as the director of the Sustainable Development Department in Santa Cruz, a city that faces many challenges. 

Ivonne has had the opportunity to travel around the world as well throughout her country. Although now the mother of two girls and the wife of a fisherman (which has enriched her life with a new vision of “the other side” of the Galápagos), she still enjoys getting away every once in a while by working as a naturalist guide.