Stephen Torres

Stephen Torres was appointed to the San Francisco Entertainment Commission as an Industry Representative by the Board of Supervisors in October 2022. 

Torres has called San Francisco home since 1999 and has worked in the city’s nightlife industry for over two decades. It was through working in the industry that he found community among the thousands of workers who support this great city’s historic, vibrant, and diverse nightlife. Like many queer people of color who arrive in San Francisco, working in restaurants, bars and clubs was an accessible, sustainable way to establish and provide for himself in this city that is so close to his heart.  

Throughout his time in San Francisco, Torres has organized industry events drawing nightlife workers from across the City to facilitate networking and support, hosted events creating safe spaces of LGBTQ+ Latin-e,a,x,o inclusion, worked as a journalist, and served on the board of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club with a focus on preserving legacy queer spaces – all while tending bar and waiting tables along the way. Currently Torres serves as the Executive Chair of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District Advisory Board where he has tied many of these focuses together in support of the mandate to preserve the District’s cultural legacy through the lenses of diversity, inclusion, equity, accessibility, and cultural competency. He was recognized by SF Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and CA State Senator Scott Wiener in 2021 for his COVID-19 response work within the District.