Ignacio De La Torre is executive director of external affairs for SBC California. He’s also an electrical engineer. It’s a good academic background to have at the transformed Pacific Bell, whose new chairman and president of long distance both are electrical engineers.

Coupled with the financial resources of the phone company, the Guadalajara-born De La Torre’s ability to translate tech-talk into English — or Spanish — is at work in San Diego wiring the real next generation of telecommunications: today’s students.

His educational outreach includes the Hispanic Association of Communications Employees of SBC and Economic Development Corp. programs at Southwest and Eastlake high schools and at UCSD. With high school students, that effort often involves coaching them to think about the things they need to do in business — and life — to be successful.

“To get the people and resources used wisely, it’s going to take a lot of commitment from SBC and school districts and teachers,” says De La Torre. “Unless our employees look like our customers, we will not understand what our customers want and need.”

As a board member, De La Torre serves the San Diego Futures Foundation, Downtown San Diego Partnership and San Diego County Workforce Investment Board. Further efforts involve Neighborhood House, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and San Diego Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

De La Torre dialed in a direct connection to SBC out of UCLA 14 years ago. He moved to San Diego County two years ago and has a home in Chula Vista’s Sunbow with wife Pilar and their 8-year-old daughter Kathryn. After all that time in L.A., he hopes to stay here.

— Terence J. Burke